NGO takes on Bengaluru's flyover fiasco

Bengaluru: Members of Greenpeace India put up banners at stalled infrastructure sites in the city on Wednesday, questioning the government's development promises, with the flyovers at RR Nagar and Dommasandra among the key projects targeted.

The banners carried caricature art questioning if the "stupid projects" were the development the government had promised.

'A city for people or pillars?', 'Is this our children's future?' and 'Is this development?' were among the slogans on the banners.

Authorities have poured nearly Rs 325 crore into the Dommasandra flyover along Sarjapur Main Road, between Kodathi and Sarjapur. The 1.4-km flyover, which had an initial deadline of 18 months, remains incomplete after six years.

Despite repeated petitions and representations from local residents' welfare associations, the project remains stuck.

Campaigner Vaishali Upadhyay said both locals and commuters felt fatigued by the stalled projects.

"The Dommasandra flyover has been pending for six years, people complain that it is more congested than before," she said. "There is fatigue among both local residents and commuters because they have to travel through the stalled projects."

She said Rs 300 crore of public money had been wasted on the project with zero benefit to the public. "The project needs better planning. It should be people-centric," she added.

Work on the RR Nagar flyover began in 2022, but, except for four pillars, the project has not moved forward — Rs 71.45 crore has been spent on it.

"It is the same situation here, too. Commuters say congestion has increased, not reduced. What makes it more absurd is the lack of transparency, planning and responsiveness," Vaishali said.

Activists turn stalled flyover pillars into a canvas of protest at Rajarajeshwari Nagar arch on Wednesday.