Project News Detail
| Project No : | 204310 |
|---|---|
| Project Title : | Bengalurus rs 19,000 cr tunnel road project faces flak for prioritising underground malls over public transport in karnataka. |
| Company Name : | Private Company |
| Project Detail : | The ambitious Tunnel Road Project (TRP), the hobby horse of deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, has raised fresh controversy. While the project has drawn flak for being considered only from the point of view of private vehicles, it has emerged that its detailed project report (DPR) proposed underground retail centres with two levels of car parking, linked by electric trolleybuses. This has given rise to allegations that TRP is dictated more by a commercial agenda than catering to Bengaluru's commuting woes. Urban expert Satya Arikutharam pointed out that the tunnel road appears to be an alibi for facilitating underground commercial complexes. 'The DPR is very perplexing. It proposes underground retail centres with two levels of car parking. And almost in passing, the proposal says trolleybuses will connect these retail facilities,' Arikutharam told TOI. Rajkumar Dugar, founder of Citizens for Citizens (C4C), warned that underground retail centres and parking lots come with several risks. 'If footfall is low, it will be a revenue failure. If it is high, it will escalate risks like claustrophobic spaces, crowd mismanagement, fire hazards, accidents, and soaring energy costs for air-conditioning and lighting,' he said. In the DPR, accessed by TOI, retail outlets are mentioned under the section headlined Intermodal Interchange hubs. 'Create a welcoming environment for passengers by incorporating amenities such as comfortable seating, clean and well-maintained facilities, and convenient services like wi-fi, charging stations, and retail outlets,' reads the DPR under the subhead, Comfort and Amenities. The 'Conceptual Layouts For The Intermodal Interchange Hubs' has also marked out spaces for retail outlets. Senior BBMP officials said they are unaware of the intermodal hubs and will look into it in detail. 'The tunnel roads are envisaged for the welfare of people and ease of mobility. While there is an intermodal hub for buses, it has not been finalised that buses will go in these tunnels. This is just the DPR; the implementation will have changes,' a senior official told TOI. |
| Project Location : | Bangalore - Karnataka - India |
| Project Estimation : | Refer Document |
| Status : | Announced |