Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar, answered his own question at a conference, suggesting that Bengaluru's traffic makes headlines because of the city's vibrant media landscape and the heightened expectations of its citizens.
The minister said while traffic congestion is a serious and widely reported issue in cities like Delhi and London, several factors may lead to Bengaluru's traffic getting disproportionately more "noise" in media coverage, Times of India reported.
Speaking at a conference on 'Pathway to better governance of Namma Bengaluru', an interaction organised by Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) at Mount Carmel College, Shivkumar said, "In London, people spend three hours in traffic. In Delhi, it takes one-and-a-half hours to travel from the airport to Parliament. But only Bengaluru's traffic has more noise. Why," he asked and broke it down: "Because we haven't curbed media freedom!"
He argued it is not that Bengaluru's traffic is uniquely bad, it is citizens and media which are high decibel.
"While the media and social media are free to criticise us, AI amplifies those voices. In some other states, the media don't enjoy this level of freedom. In Karnataka, we welcome criticism," he added.
Addressing the mobility crisis, he noted that Bengaluru sees 1.3 lakh vehicles on its roads daily, while an additional 70 lakh people commute into the city from surrounding areas each day.
"Traffic is a real concern, and Bengaluru is not alone. The difference in Bengaluru is every pothole is spoken about," he was quoted as saying.
Shivakumar said while one half of Bengaluru wants to see the city as a global hub, the other half remains indifferent to its upkeep.
“People are migrating to Bengaluru in large numbers for education, jobs and a better life. The population has doubled from around 70 lakhs during SM Krishna’s (former CM) time to 1.4 crore now,” he said, adding, “But despite all the progress, we are struggling with basic issues such as traffic, garbage, and water. Kempe Gowda built Bengaluru by accommodating all communities to live and do business. But it is not a planned city today and it is facing many challenges such as traffic, garbage and drinking water.”
Calling for stronger civic responsibility, he said indifference among citizens is one of the biggest obstacles to keeping Bengaluru clean and sustainable. “There are people who dump garbage anywhere and everywhere — what can the govt do if citizens don’t cooperate?” he asked.
“Every household has two or three vehicles parked on the streets, and construction debris is dumped carelessly. We are taking strict action, but the garbage mafia is working hard to derail our efforts. They’ve even filed a PIL to stop us from fixing the garbage issue,” he said, adding that the newly formed GBA aims to bring greater coordination among multiple civic agencies.
“Bengaluru had 198 wards under one commissioner, but with the population expected to touch two crore in the next decade, we’ve created five corporations and 368 wards for better decentralised administration,” he added.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
