Bengaluru: The state government doesn't seem to have learnt its lesson. Although cornered and dragged to the National Green Tribunal over the steel flyover that was planned between Chalukya Circle and Hebbal, and which would have cost the city hundreds of more trees, it is now readying to build another steel flyover at Shivananda Circle.
The state Cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of the new flyover at a cost of Rs 19.85 crore. While it will be much smaller than the flyover planned to Hebbal Circle and also cheaper – the last one was expected to cost Rs 1800 crore - the Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), the umbrella organisation, which spearheaded the protest against the last steel flyover, is taking no chances.
It is demanding that the government put all project details in public domain and hold a real public consultation before proceeding with it. Says Mr Srinivas Alavalli, co-ordinator at CfB, "CfB doesn't believe flyovers or road widening will solve the traffic congestion in our city , but only shift it from point A to B. The real answer is public transport and we must prioritise it with a sense of urgency.”
Urging the government to learn a lesson from the “Steel Flyover BEDA” movement, he underlines that only transparency will help. “The CfB will study the Detailed Project Report and work with local residents to better understand the project and will await the public consultation,” the civic activist adds.
Dr Ashish Verma, mobility expert and associate professor, Centre for Infrastructure Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) at the Indian Institute of Science, also believes that flyovers cannot prevent traffic bottlenecks in the city.
"The flyover at Yeshwanthpur is a classic example. It was built to ease traffic at the Yeshwanthpur junction, but what it has created is a bigger traffic jam. When you climb the flyover from C V Raman Nagar and head to the Yeshwantpur railway station, you almost always get stuck in traffic on it," he points out.
Traffic expert, M N Sreehari also agrees that flyovers do not ease congestion but only shift it from one place to another. "When the Hebbal flyover was built it was touted as the best flyover in the city and was said to have solved the traffic issues at the spot. But what has happened now ? The flyover has become redundant and, so will other upcoming ones in the city," he warns.
Both Mr Ashish Verma and Mr Sreehari make a case for improving public transport with projects like the Metro Rail ,which can carry thousands of passengers at once.
Vital stats
- Steel flyover to be built on Hare Krishna Road, across Shivananda Circle
- The bidirectional 4-lane flyover from Race Course Road towards Sheshadripuram will be 326 metre long and 16 metre wide
- Total project cost is estimated to be Rs 50 crore, including Rs 32.91 crore for land acquisition
- BBMP claims it may have to fell 26 trees for the project
