Tip for politicians, for free! Plan for 50 years, not 5

How people in power are wasting taxpayers' money with short-sightedness and ill approach towards B'luru's civic projects

Rasheed Kappan | NT

Bengaluru: Quick-fix solutions sound so trendy. But if it is at the cost of a long-term, wellplanned vision, you could end up pushing thousands of crores of taxpayers' money down the drain.

By cracking rapidly, Bengaluru’s ‘rapid roads’ proved it recently; Namma Metro with its overground chaos and flyover projects achieving short-term ‘targets’ have otherwise proved costly. Flyovers rarely help in decongestion. For decades, seasoned mobility experts have told governments that flyovers only shift the chaos from one junction to another. Most existing structures in the city have proved it.

And yet, the one-track obsession with these infra-quick fixes continues unabated. The latest in the government’s ‘todo list’ is a proposed four-lane bi-directional flyover from Bashyam Junction on Sankey Road to Malleswaram 18th Cross.

Stated in big, bold letters for public consumption is this: A reduction in traffic congestion. The loss of over 50 heritage trees that define the area’s green aesthetics is seen as justified, collateral damage! The short-term vision: Let cars and SUVs breeze past the area, just like a signal-free corridor project designed exclusively for motorised transport on Old Airport Road that felled dozens of century-old trees for unwanted subways and underpasses.

The Sankey Road project is being pushed through without that muchtalked-about precondition: Public consultation. Agitated citizens, the local residents, are convinced that a flyover here would only create more traffic bottlenecks, reduce walkability and in due course, add to the congestion.

Short-sighted perspective

But thinking long-term with a short-sighted perspective could also backfire. Taking the Metro over ground even in the heart of the city is one such case. The pillars that cropped up on Bengaluru’s iconic MG Road ended up destroying the old boulevard and aesthetics with a monstrous station.

The underground Nagawara-Gottigere line that cuts across the purple one here will force commuters to change five floors vertically and walk over 300m horizontal distance to shift lines. Historically, Namma Metro should have gone underground at least up to the Outer Ring Road, irrespective of the cost, feels Ravichandar.

“By going underground, the station footprint becomes less, gives more space for interchange from bus to auto and other modes and doesn’t eat into the road width. That way, the Metro does not need to follow the road directions. You can go cross road below the ground.”

In hindsight, the lack of thinking ahead led to Bengaluru’s urban sprawl, unregulated layouts without basic utilities and transport options. One way out could have been densification by going vertical within the city’s core, within the ORR limits.

This would have minimised the need to travel long distances and become a load on the city’s grossly inadequate road infrastructure. There seems to be no going back now, a price we have to pay for short-term thinking.