Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar generated tongues wagging on Wednesday with the words that even a miracle cannot improve Bengaluru’s age-old traffic and infrastructure woes overnight. His statement was resoundingly criticized on social media with the public holding fingers to the ruling Congress government for failure to iron out pending projects and ongoing traffic hassles.
“Bengaluru cannot be transformed in two or three years. Even God cannot do that. It can only be achieved with proper planning and proper implementation,” Shivakumar stated during the launch of a workshop on road construction.
These words come at a time when residents of Bengaluru, as well as the city planners themselves, make ever-more vociferous complaints about deteriorating traffic, sluggish progress with the metro system, and pathetic public transport. While critics point out that although several ambitious infrastructure projects have been proposed, their implementation has been sloppy and patchy.
Economist and Aarin Capital chairman Mohandas Pai responded to Shivakumar’s comment by challenging the intentions of the government to develop the infrastructure of the city. “Minister DK Shivakumar, two years are over since you took office! We welcomed you as a strong leader, but our lives have been deteriorating day by day!” Pai tweeted.
He emphasized that there are still major infrastructure projects pending, pedestrian paths are in disrepair, and public transport is poor. Pai demanded action at the moment, including the acquisition of 5,000 new electric buses, constructing a cleaner and more accessible city, and round-the-clock work on metro development.
Even the BJP opposition joined the fray and attacked Shivakumar’s comments while lambasting the Congress government of Siddaramaiah as woefully incompetent. “It is unfortunate that the individual who promised to build up ‘Brand Bengaluru’ says even God cannot fix these problems. If not God, then who?” BJP leader Mohan Krishna asked in an interview with NDTV.
