<p class="bodytext">Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda’s recent outburst over the glacial pace of Namma Metro construction reflects a frustration that millions of Bengalureans share daily. During his inspection of the Blue Line works from Nagawara Junction to Yelahanka, he was astonished that a single pillar had taken more than two years to complete, prompting him to ask whether this was ‘rocket science’. His anger was not rhetorical theatre. It came from standing amid blocked carriageways, debris piled on footpaths, choked service lanes, and traffic reduced to a crawl for years, with little visible progress to justify the inconvenience. Citizens, too, have long wondered why entire stretches of roads are barricaded when the work seems to advance at a snail’s pace. Prolonged congestion has eroded productivity, increased travel times, and worsened air quality. What compounds the problem is the absence of basic site discipline: unremoved debris, poor drainage and battered service roads. In a city where every disrupted kilometre affects tens of thousands of commuters, people have a right to expect faster and more accountable execution.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Yet the solution is not as simple as asking the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to finish two kilometres at a time before moving ahead. Metro corridors are built through large construction ‘packages’, each spanning several kilometres and awarded to different contractors. Heavy machinery, casting yards, and specialised equipment cannot be shifted every few weeks; nor can financing from funding agencies be utilised in tiny fragments. Moreover, system integration — tracks, signalling, electrification — requires uniform progress across the corridor. While design is meant to ensure that work progresses simultaneously across the entire length, thereby saving time, in Bengaluru, it appears to have had the opposite effect, with construction stalled at various segments.</p>.Docu series throws spotlight on why Bengaluru is so dusty.<p class="bodytext">What can change is the way this strategy is implemented. First, the government must enforce strict micro-milestones: the time taken for piers, pier caps, and segment launching cannot be open-ended. Penalties for delays should be real, not cosmetic. Second, the BMRCL must insist on better site management — daily debris clearance, restoration of service lanes, and proper drainage. Third, the city urgently needs better coordination between all civic agencies involved, the BMRCL, and, where applicable, the National Highways Authority of India, to resolve issues in real time. Finally, once major civil work in any section is completed, barricades must be removed without delay, and the full carriageway restored, even if station construction is underway. Bengaluru does not demand miracles. It simply wants a Metro built with urgency, coordination, and respect for the millions who use these roads every day.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda’s recent outburst over the glacial pace of Namma Metro construction reflects a frustration that millions of Bengalureans share daily. During his inspection of the Blue Line works from Nagawara Junction to Yelahanka, he was astonished that a single pillar had taken more than two years to complete, prompting him to ask whether this was ‘rocket science’. His anger was not rhetorical theatre. It came from standing amid blocked carriageways, debris piled on footpaths, choked service lanes, and traffic reduced to a crawl for years, with little visible progress to justify the inconvenience. Citizens, too, have long wondered why entire stretches of roads are barricaded when the work seems to advance at a snail’s pace. Prolonged congestion has eroded productivity, increased travel times, and worsened air quality. What compounds the problem is the absence of basic site discipline: unremoved debris, poor drainage and battered service roads. In a city where every disrupted kilometre affects tens of thousands of commuters, people have a right to expect faster and more accountable execution.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Yet the solution is not as simple as asking the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to finish two kilometres at a time before moving ahead. Metro corridors are built through large construction ‘packages’, each spanning several kilometres and awarded to different contractors. Heavy machinery, casting yards, and specialised equipment cannot be shifted every few weeks; nor can financing from funding agencies be utilised in tiny fragments. Moreover, system integration — tracks, signalling, electrification — requires uniform progress across the corridor. While design is meant to ensure that work progresses simultaneously across the entire length, thereby saving time, in Bengaluru, it appears to have had the opposite effect, with construction stalled at various segments.</p>.Docu series throws spotlight on why Bengaluru is so dusty.<p class="bodytext">What can change is the way this strategy is implemented. First, the government must enforce strict micro-milestones: the time taken for piers, pier caps, and segment launching cannot be open-ended. Penalties for delays should be real, not cosmetic. Second, the BMRCL must insist on better site management — daily debris clearance, restoration of service lanes, and proper drainage. Third, the city urgently needs better coordination between all civic agencies involved, the BMRCL, and, where applicable, the National Highways Authority of India, to resolve issues in real time. Finally, once major civil work in any section is completed, barricades must be removed without delay, and the full carriageway restored, even if station construction is underway. Bengaluru does not demand miracles. It simply wants a Metro built with urgency, coordination, and respect for the millions who use these roads every day.</p>
