If Mumbai can have Tunnel Road, why not Bengaluru?: Priyank Kharge

BENGALURU: IT-BT and Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge reignited the debate on the 18-km underground tunnel road from Hebbal to Silk Board by quoting a news report about Mumbais 70-km planned tunnel network, which aims to ease that citys traffic bottlenecks by linking Marine Drive, Worli, Bandra-Worli Sea Link, BKC and the airport. Taking aim at the BJP, Kharge said, Instead of misleading the public, @BJP4Karnataka should first pay attention to what Nitin Gadkari himself has advised for Bengaluru, and observe what the BJP government in Maharashtra is implementing with its tunnel infrastructure projects. Perhaps they should convince their own leadership before preaching to us. His comments come amid rising political heat over Bengalurus tunnel road, proposed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar as a solution to the citys traffic woes, but condemned by the BJP as unscientific, elitist and wasteful. Shivakumar claims the tunnel road will transform urban mobility and has cited international models like Singapores subterranean highways. BJP has said it would start a campaign against it, arguing that the project benefits only car owners in affluent localities such as Sadashivanagar and Koramangala, while ignoring public transport solutions like Metro and suburban rail. On November 2, BJP leaders held a big protest at Lalbagh, pledging to fight the project in Parliament, Assembly, and courts. The campaign has gained traction online under the hashtag #NoTunnelRoad. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya alleges lack of transparency in Bengaluru Tunnel Road project Some experts, too, have raised alarm over environmental and economic risks. Bengalurus rocky geology and fragile aquifers, they warn, could suffer severe damage without proper geological or environmental assessment. The proposed Rs330 toll per trip could make the tunnel inaccessible to most citizens, while taxpayers would shoulder over Rs7,000 crore in public expenditure. Traffic planners fear the tunnels entry and exit ramps could create 22 new choke points across the city, experts said. While the Congress insists that if tunnels are good for Mumbai, they cannot be bad for Bengaluru, why does BJP stop traffic solutions, urban researchers at the Indian Institute of Science caution that tunnels may reduce congestion only marginally, unless integrated with Metro, bus and car-use reduction measures. Bengaluru is ranked among one of the most congested cities in India, and experts say it loses time at the wheel due to traffic snarls.