Bengaluru: Members of the Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) are not going to rest until the proposed steel flyover is shelved, and are exploring various ways to keep the movement going.
On Monday, they announced their calendar of events that includes satyagraha, short-movie competition, RTI campaign, consultation with Residents’ Welfare Association to pass a resolution against the flyover and a rally by school and college students.
Mr Prakash Belawadi, actor and founding member of CfB, said, “We have no dearth of creativity. We know how to keep the movement alive with our campaigns. Our only concern is to bring this useless project to a halt. Taking the help of independent experts, we will prepare a comprehensive environmental impact assessment on the project. We will reach out to all Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) and request each one of them to pass a resolution against the steel flyover,” he said.
Mr Srinivas Alavalli, leading organiser of CfB, said, “Using RTI as a tool, we will dig out all the facts which the government is trying to hide. RTIs will be filed with various departments involved in the controversial project to throw light on information relating to design, the due process and feasibility."
On November 6, thousands are expected to take part in the one-day sathyagraha.
Expert: By the time it is built, flyover will have bumper-to-bumper traffic
By the time the controversial steel flyover is built and opened for public in 2018, the volume of traffic on the stretch of the flyover from High Grounds to Hebbal would have almost doubled, resulting in bumper-to-bumper traffic over the bridge and below the bridge, says Dr Ashish Verma, mobility expert and associate professor, Centre for Infrastructure Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP), IISc.
In his technical study, Mr Verma has considered three scenarios for future traffic forecast: 1) Average vehicular growth of 4.75 % mentioned by STUP Consultants who did the DPR of steel flyover for BDA, 2) Ideal growth of 10.6% in airline passenger traffic to KIA and 3) Car ownership which is doubling every five years. In 2007, we had 51 cars per 1,000 population, in 2011, it increased to 100 car per 1,000 population and for 2016, it is 150 car per 1,000 population.
“In the space of the proposed 6-lane steel bridge, two tracks of metro can be built in each direction. Even if half of airport-bound commuters use Metro, it can serve the system better up to 2044,” Dr Verma said.
Short-movie competition
Bengaluru-based filmmaker Pawan Kumar of ‘U-turn’ fame, who has joined the Citizens for Bengaluru, has called upon film enthusiasts and film students to make a one-minute video explaining why the city doesn't need the steel flyover.
"Film has the power to convey a message to a larger audience. The best three short movies will be picked by a jury and the winning filmmaker will be given an opportunity to work on my next movie,” he said.
