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Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya had criticised the city’s proposed tunnel road, describing it as a “matrimonial project”. He was responding to recent comments by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar defending the project.
Tejasvi had earlier met Shivakumar, urging the Karnataka government to reconsider the tunnel road project and invest in public transport instead. During the meeting, Shivakumar defended the project, saying people predominantly preferred to travel in their own vehicles. He also said, “Today, people even hesitate to marry a boy who doesn’t own a car.”
Shivakumar had added that Tejasvi’s call to invest in public transport is unfeasible without Union government funds. He urged BJP MPs in Karnataka to approach the Union government for funding.
Sharing a newspaper clipping of Shivakumar’s remarks, Tejasvi said in a statement, “For all these days, I was under the wrong impression that the tunnel project was aimed at solving Bengaluru’s traffic problem. Now, DCM has clarified that it is intended to solve a social problem — of people not wanting to marry a man without a car. How stupid I was!”
Following the meeting with DK Shivakumar, Tejasvi held a press conference on sustainable mobility for Bengaluru. During this event, he said, “It appears the Deputy CM wants a tunnel road to solve a social problem. He seems to think the entire city owns cars. As per RTO records, only 12% of Bengalureans own cars. What about the rest? Are they not getting married or leading family lives?”
The BJP MP said the tunnel road was “extremely costly and environmentally disastrous,” warning that it would harm Bengaluru’s geology and hydrology. He cited data from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and other studies to claim that the tunnel would move just 1,800 cars per hour per direction, compared to 69,000 people on a Metro or MRTS system. “If you want to build a ladder to the moon, do you want the Prime Minister to fund it?” he remarked, calling the project a “vanity venture.”
Tejasvi accused the state government of ignoring viable alternatives. He said the state should prioritise completing the 317-km metro rail network outlined in the Comprehensive Mobility Plan to ensure every citizen can reach a station within five minutes. The proposal also includes improving the metro train frequency to three minutes and extending the suburban rail to 314 km.
“Let us build Bengaluru for people, not for contractors and cars,” Tejasvi said, suggesting that modern trams could be a cheaper, scalable transit option capable of carrying up to 15,000 passengers per hour.
“Together, this 600-kilometre rail-based backbone can take around 60 to 65 lakh people every day,” he said, adding that plans to improve the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and introduce smaller private buses were also overlooked.
“Only a reliable and efficient public transport system can truly decongest our roads,” Tejasvi further said, urging the government to focus on existing projects that were “moving at a snail’s pace” instead of launching new ones.
He argued that the tunnel road’s projected benefits were minimal, with an expected travel time reduction of only 13 minutes by 2031 and 15 minutes by 2041.
Tejasvi also commented on Bengaluru’s traffic safety issues and poor road conditions. “More people in Bengaluru die due to road-related accidents than terrorist attacks in the country. This must be addressed by improving footpaths and ensuring pothole-free roads,” he said.
Responding to the criticism, Shivakumar said neither he nor Tejasvi were technical experts on the tunnel road and that the project was being evaluated by experts.
“Tejasvi has made some suggestions. He said the tunnel road is mainly for cars and wants the metro network to be expanded. We have no objection to implementing an urban rail project, as long as Tejasvi secures funds from the Union. He can take the help of Somanna, who is the Union minister. Right now, we receive only 10-12% of the total project cost,” Shivakumar said.