Tejasvi Surya bats for augmenting public transport on ‘rail based backbone’; DKS asks him to get money from centre

Bengaluru

Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has batted for increasing public transport options in the city manifold, mainly focusing on railways, including expanding Namma Metro and building suburban rail, circular rail, intercity rail, mono rail and even trams, apart from increasing the bus fleet in the city.

He has vehemently argued against tunnel roads and elevated corridors, in the suggestions to decongest Bengaluru he submitted to Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D. K. Shivakumar on Tuesday. 

Arguing against tunnel roads, which he said will cater to only cars and termed it “wrong road to mobility”, Mr. Surya has said that a trip on tunnel road will cost over five times the cost of a metro trip, while metro moves 69,000 per hour per direction, tunnel roads will only move 1,800 per hour per direction, thereby may end up adding more car trips.

Instead, Mr. Surya has argued for augmenting Namma Metro network to 317 km with trains at 3 minutes frequency, not only expediting suburban rail, but also opt for modern trams and Light Rail Transit options like Mono Rail as first and last mile connectivity in the core city and high density corridors like the Outer Ring Road (ORR). He also batted for circular rail and augmenting inter-city rail under Namma Railu project. He argued for increasing the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) fleet to 16,000 with an annual commitment to buy 1,000 buses to ensure a bus every five minutes.

“Let BJP get funds”

Responding to these suggestions, Mr. Shivakumar said that he did not see viable alternatives to the tunnel road project in the presentation made by Mr. Surya, but respects the suggestions made and would direct officials to study them.

“Anybody can give suggestions, but we need money to implement any project. Most of the suggestions he has made are railway projects. We haven’t been able to add new rails because of lack of central funding. I have told him that I will also come and let all BJP MPs come, let us meet the Prime Minister and seek grants. Let us meet V. Somanna and discuss these projects. Let the MP not just give suggestions, but get the city money to implement them,” he said.

Further arguing that as a government, they were forced to create infrastructure for private vehicles, Mr. Shivakumar said owning a car was a social aspiration which cannot be denied. “We cannot force people to abandon their private vehicles. I pointed out to the MP that he had come to meet me in his car. Let the MP call upon his constituents to use only public transport and see how many follow him,” he said. 

Meanwhile, sources in the BJP said that Mr. Surya submitting suggestions to the Deputy Chief Minister has not gone down well in the party. “Ideally, this exercise had to be done from the party forum, involving city’s MPs and MLAs. Moreover, most of his suggestions are railway projects, making it easier for the Congress to push the ball back into BJP’s court,” a senior city leader said.