Not 368, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar hints that Bengaluru will have 369 wards

Bengaluru: The total number of wards across five municipal corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA) are likely to be 369 as against 368 which were already notified. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday hinted that there is a plan to add one more ward to Bengaluru’s map, given that the window to raise objections is still open.

Number nine is considered auspicious as it aligns with Navagraha (nine planets). The government in the past had fixed 198 wards, which was then increased to 243 (totals to nine) and later reduced to 225 (again totals to nine).

Speaking at an interaction hosted by Bangalore Political Action Committee (B PAC) in Mount Carmel College, Dy CM D K Shivakumar hinted there would be 369 wards. “Also, 50 per cent of the tickets in the elections would be given to women,” he said, adding urbanisation has been a challenge for any city or country.

“Bengaluru had 198 wards which were managed by one commissioner. Bengaluru’s population will reach 2 crore in the next 10 to 15 years. We have formed five corporations in order to decentralise administration,” he added, pointing out that the positive effects of the efforts taken up during the Congress Government will be felt for years to come.

He also outlined projects such as the 104-km Bangalore Business Corridor, 40-km tunnel road, double decker flyovers, elevated roads and new roads along the buffer zones which were proposed during his term as Bangalore Development Minister.

Places like Japan, London had tunnel roads long ago

“In places like Japan, London, tunnel roads were built long ago. We are building it now to alleviate traffic congestion. While I agree that public transport is important, the reality on the ground is different. A majority of the citizens prefer private vehicles. But as the number of vehicles increases, we aren’t able to expand the roads due to lack of space. This is where tunnels and flyovers will help,” D K Shivakumar said.

During the question answer session, students of the college raised concerns over the recent Metro hike, stating it was becoming unaffordable for many. Some students also pointed out that the waiting time for catching the Metro on the Yellow line was as long as 30 minutes. A few participants raised issues related to traffic.

One of the attendees posed a question to the Deputy CM why there is no punishment for engineers and contractors for shoddy roadworks, while drawing a parallel to how traffic police are eager to catch and penalise motorists who violate traffic norms. DK Shivakumar however did not respond to this query.