Bengaluru, Oct 29: BJP Yuva Morcha National President and Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Surya has strongly criticized the Congress-led Karnataka government’s proposed ₹43,000 crore Bengaluru Tunnel Road project, calling it an unscientific and wasteful plan. Addressing reporters at the BJP State Office, Jagannath Bhavan, Surya alleged that the project is a “₹43,000 crore scheme to eliminate social evil” rather than a genuine solution to the city’s traffic woes.
He questioned the logic behind constructing an 18 km tunnel at such an enormous cost without a proper feasibility study, saying, “How can all of Bengaluru’s traffic problems be solved by one tunnel? Even experts’ views are being ignored.” Surya stressed that the government should instead focus on completing pending transport projects and prioritizing public transport systems like metro, trams, and suburban rail.
Citing data, he pointed out that after the launch of the Yellow Metro Line, car traffic on Silk Board reduced by 37 percent, while the Purple Line cut congestion by 12–14 percent. “This proves that expanding the metro is a real solution, not building tunnels for cars,” he said.
Surya suggested that the same investment could construct a 317 km metro network by 2031, ensuring a station within five minutes’ walk from any location in the city. He also urged the government to reduce metro fares, arguing that high ticket prices discourage commuters from using public transport.
Criticizing the frequent delays in metro projects, he noted that each line is running 5–6 years behind schedule. “If hard rock is delaying metro construction, will the tunnel road face soft rock?” he quipped sarcastically.
The press meet was attended by BJP leaders P. Rajiv, Malavika Avinash, S. Harish, and Saptagiri Gowda.
