<p>The much-discussed 88 km elevated corridor project, proposed by the JDS-Congress government and scrapped by the BJP government, is finding its way back. </p>.<p>A year-and-a-half after a citizens’ movement forced the government to drop the proposal, the final draft of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP), announced in 2020, is talking about elevated corridors, triggering alarm among citizens’ groups. </p>.<p>Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) says the project will be a waste of public money. “We have also questioned the validity of the CMP itself of which the elevated corridor is a part,” she told <span class="italic">Metrolife</span>.</p>.<p>Citizens’ groups will come together and protest, as they did when the elevated corridor was first proposed, if the government wants to revive the plan, she adds.</p>.<p>Many activists feel the BJP government is testing the waters before they bring the flyover project back to life.</p>.<p>D S Rajashekar, former president and member of Citizens’ Action Forum, says, “The same people who raised a hue and cry about the corridor being a scam are now advocating it. What changed now?”</p>.<p><strong><span class="bold">‘Flyover holiday’</span></strong></p>.<p>Srinivas Alavilli, an activist who had mobilised protests against the elevated corridor, says that reviving it is a “terrible idea”.</p>.<p>“Flyovers will not solve Bengaluru’s traffic problem. We should have a flyover holiday and stop constructing flyovers for a while. The city already has 55 flyovers, and they haven’t made much of a difference. Wait and see how bus lanes, suburban trains, and expediting Metro lines pan out,” Srinivas adds. </p>.<p>The amount of construction needed for the corridor will be ‘devastating for the city’s environment’, especially when other projects are also in progress, he says. </p>.<p>Srinivas believes ‘high-priority bus lanes will be more effective and 1,000 times cheaper than the elevated corridor’.</p>.<p>Projects to promote cycle lanes and footpaths are going in the right direction; the government should stick to the public transport and non-motorable plans and not mess things around with yet another flyover, he says. </p>.<p><strong><span class="bold">‘Bus priority lanes must’</span></strong></p>.<p>Public transport activist Vinay Sreenivasa of Bengaluru Bus Prayaanikara Vedike says fewer buses are on the roads since the pandemic broke out.</p>.<p>“The number of buses over the last five years has gone down, and not enough money is being spent on buses,” he says.</p>.<p>“Plans for the city should be made with a clear vision for the future,” he suggests.</p>
<p>The much-discussed 88 km elevated corridor project, proposed by the JDS-Congress government and scrapped by the BJP government, is finding its way back. </p>.<p>A year-and-a-half after a citizens’ movement forced the government to drop the proposal, the final draft of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP), announced in 2020, is talking about elevated corridors, triggering alarm among citizens’ groups. </p>.<p>Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) says the project will be a waste of public money. “We have also questioned the validity of the CMP itself of which the elevated corridor is a part,” she told <span class="italic">Metrolife</span>.</p>.<p>Citizens’ groups will come together and protest, as they did when the elevated corridor was first proposed, if the government wants to revive the plan, she adds.</p>.<p>Many activists feel the BJP government is testing the waters before they bring the flyover project back to life.</p>.<p>D S Rajashekar, former president and member of Citizens’ Action Forum, says, “The same people who raised a hue and cry about the corridor being a scam are now advocating it. What changed now?”</p>.<p><strong><span class="bold">‘Flyover holiday’</span></strong></p>.<p>Srinivas Alavilli, an activist who had mobilised protests against the elevated corridor, says that reviving it is a “terrible idea”.</p>.<p>“Flyovers will not solve Bengaluru’s traffic problem. We should have a flyover holiday and stop constructing flyovers for a while. The city already has 55 flyovers, and they haven’t made much of a difference. Wait and see how bus lanes, suburban trains, and expediting Metro lines pan out,” Srinivas adds. </p>.<p>The amount of construction needed for the corridor will be ‘devastating for the city’s environment’, especially when other projects are also in progress, he says. </p>.<p>Srinivas believes ‘high-priority bus lanes will be more effective and 1,000 times cheaper than the elevated corridor’.</p>.<p>Projects to promote cycle lanes and footpaths are going in the right direction; the government should stick to the public transport and non-motorable plans and not mess things around with yet another flyover, he says. </p>.<p><strong><span class="bold">‘Bus priority lanes must’</span></strong></p>.<p>Public transport activist Vinay Sreenivasa of Bengaluru Bus Prayaanikara Vedike says fewer buses are on the roads since the pandemic broke out.</p>.<p>“The number of buses over the last five years has gone down, and not enough money is being spent on buses,” he says.</p>.<p>“Plans for the city should be made with a clear vision for the future,” he suggests.</p>