India's most expensive road? Tejasvi Surya slams ₹18,500 cr tunnel plan in Bengaluru as ‘corruption project'
₹ 18,500 crore underground tunnel network project in Bengaluru has intensified, with experts calling for development of sustainable mass transit systems instead. (Representational image)(unsplash)
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Surya alleged the tunnel is a vanity scheme meant to benefit just 10 per cent of car-owning elites in posh areas like Sadashivnagar and Koramangala, while 90 per cent of Bengalureans continue to struggle with inadequate public transport. 'This is perhaps only going to benefit the crorepatis of Sadashivnagar & Koramangala 4th block & not the common man,' he wrote.
ALSO READ | Bengaluru tunnel road between Hebbal and Silk Board to be toll-based, says DK Shivakumar
One of his key allegations were that the tunnel road network would serve fewer people. IISc data shows a metro can carry over 25,000 people per hour, while the proposed tunnel serves only 600 to 1,600 people an hour, he wrote in a social media post on X.
ALSO READ | Tunnel vs transit: Bengaluru's infrastructure debate on social media heats up amid traffic woes
He also termed the feasibility report as 'bogus', claiming that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) - the city's civic administrative agency - allegedly spent ₹9.5 crore on a feasibility study riddled with 'irregularities' — including outdated photos and even references to traffic data from Maharashtra.
He then called on the outrageous costs, saying that the underground project would be more expensive than the Mumbai Coastal Road, Atal Tunnel, and even the Bengaluru–Mysuru Expressway, priced at ₹18,500 crore for just 18 km. 'Will they build it with golden bricks?' he wrote.
See his post here:
Calling it a 'vanity project', Surya vowed to oppose the plan in courts, streets, and Parliament, demanding investment in mass transit solutions instead.
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