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While the government has hinted at the contentious flyover project being shelved, citizens who have been protesting against it say they have not received any official word on the decision yet.
Amid fierce protests by residents living around Bengaluru’s Sankey Road, the Karnataka government has reportedly hinted at shutting down the controversial flyover project there. The Times Of India reported on Friday, February 10, that Malleshwaram MLA and Higher Education Minister CN Ashwath Narayan has hinted at the project being shelved as the government doesn’t want to go against the wishes of local residents. This development comes days after Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai promised to meet with the residents and address their concerns.
“We will bring the proposal before the CM-led Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) where its pros and cons will be discussed in detail and a formal announcement on doing away with the project will be made thereafter,” TOI quotes Ashwath Narayan as saying. Speaking to TNM, Dr Rajan Subramanyam, a member of the group Citizens for Sankey, said that there has been no formal announcement from the government so far on the same. “We have not received any official communication in this regard. Till we see an official order, we will assume that the government is going ahead with the project. But we are very encouraged by the minister’s response. We are hopeful that the government will look into the points we have raised,” he said.
Residents have been protesting the 560-metre flyover connecting Bhashyam Circle and Malleshwaram 18th Cross for various reasons, including the fact that several heritage trees will have to be cut in the process. Residents — including children — of Vyalikaval, Sadashivanagar and Malleshwaram have been demonstrating since January by hugging and climbing up trees, after 17 trees were cut for the flyover project. They also submitted letters to the Chief Minister.
Apart from the environmental concerns, residents say that the flyover will not solve the traffic congestion, but will instead push traffic to the Cauvery junction underpass, which is already a bottleneck. They also allege that they were not consulted before the project was approved and tenders were invited in December 2022.
Read: Bengaluru’s Sankey Road Flyover Project to result in cutting of 55 trees
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