On Monday, Bengaluru South MP and BJP National Yuva Morcha President Tejasvi Surya questioned the Karnataka government over its delay in procuring 4,500 centrally sanctioned buses for Bengaluru. Surya addressed a press conference in Bengaluru, where he accused the state government of prioritizing expensive infrastructure projects over public transport. He pointed out that the Central government had approved 4,500 electric buses for the city under the PM e-Drive scheme, which had also received the Karnataka Cabinet’s approval. However, the state government was delaying the procurement despite being required to contribute only a small share of the total cost.
Surya criticized the government’s infrastructure priorities, citing the example of a proposed tunnel road. He asked why the government could not invest in public transport when it had thousands of crores of rupees to spend on such projects. Surya alleged that the government was functioning only for car owners and the elite, ignoring lakhs of citizens who rely on BMTC buses and Namma Metro for their daily commute. He also referred to recent remarks made by Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who had argued that short flyovers do not resolve traffic congestion.
Surya further alleged that the state government had undertaken unscientific infrastructure projects that would not benefit the city while neglecting investments in public transport. He claimed that ordinary citizens had become second-class citizens in the eyes of the government. Surya reiterated that the government’s reluctance to release its share of funds for the bus procurement project reflected misplaced priorities and urged it to focus on strengthening Bengaluru’s public transport system instead of pursuing costly infrastructure projects.
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📰 Source: Mangalorean News