Elevated corridor: CM H.D. Kumaraswamy open to consultation

Bengaluru: Three days after the massive protest against the controversial elevated corridor project, concerned citizens met with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, demanding wide public consultation and bringing their protest, #Tender—RadduMaadi, to his notice on Tuesday

A large number of citizens representing over 60 organisations had staged a protest in front of Gandhi Statue at Mourya Circle and demanded the abandoning of the controversial project.

In his reply, Kumaraswamy assured the members that a wide ranging and open public consultation will he held. However, he said that the public consultation can be held after the code of conduct comes to an end which is in force due to the parliamentary polls.

Naresh Narasimhan, an architect and activist protesting the elevated corridor said that Mr. Kumaraswamy was quick to meet with activists and give them a patient hearing.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said the final Detailed Project Report (DPR) is still not ready and no decision would be taken before holding the meeting, said Narasimhan.

Mr. Kumaraswamy patiently listened to various points of view at the meeting and offered his own comments in the discussion with Leo Saldanha of ESG, Prof Ashish Verma of IISc, Prakash Belawadi, Naresh Narasimhan, Vinay Sreenivasa of Bengaluru Bus Prayaneekara Vedike (BBPV), Zibi Jamal of Whitefield Rising, and Isaac Amritaraj of Slum Janaandolana Sanghatane and, Srinivas Alavilli and Tara Krishnaswamy of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB).

At the end of the dialogue, he agreed to hold wide-ranging and open public consultations on the issue of mobility itself, including the proposed elevated corridorproject before proceeding any further in the matter, said an official release from the #TenderRaddu—Maadi group.

The CM himself said that public transport is his priority and that he wished to develop Bengaluru as a high quality liveable city. He also mentioned that he is not committed to any one project or the other but that he is clear that this crisis is an opportunity for him to leave a legacy for a sustainable Bengaluru for many decades to come, the release stated.

He received Prof Verma's mobility report and promised to personally review the document and alternative proposals. He also received a consolidated set of demands from the citizens' protest, took the time to peruse it and promised to come to an understanding on how to proceed, the release stated.