Drop tunnel road plan, build mass rapid transit systems instead: MP Tejasvi Surya to DKS

Bangalore South MP, LS Tejasvi Surya, has batted for building mass rapid transit systems instead of tunnel roads. 

On Wednesday, the BJP parliamentarian called on Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and stressed that "traffic congestion is never addressed by building more roads". 

Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, has sought to build tunnel roads to address the city's traffic problem. 

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Surya said mass rapid transportation systems like the metro were the only solution to reduce traffic congestion. 

"More roads is not the solution for addressing traffic congestion. I urged him (Shivakumar) to invest public money on mass rapid transport systems instead of tunnel roads to benefit a larger population of Bengaluru. He assured that he will consider my suggestions before taking a final call (sic)," he wrote. 

Surya said he also urged Shivakumar to appoint full-time managing directors to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka), or K-RIDE, which is building the suburban railway project. 

"The absence of full-time MDs has hampered the progress of both these crucial infrastructure projects for the city," he said. 

The MP also requested that the state government send a revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) on Namma Metro's Phase 3 to the union government, build a multi-level flyover over the same route during Phase 3 to expand the carriage capacity of the road from Vega City Mall to Nayandahalli, and expedite the construction of a skywalk between Banashankari metro and bus stations. 

Surya said he also requested that the 66 kV overhead EHT lines in Hosakerehalli be laid underground. 

Surya said Shivakumar promised to look into his requests.