BENGALURU, 6 MARCH

Bengaluru, once India’s proud ‘Silicon Valley,’ is now buckling under the weight of its own growth.

Traffic gridlocks, crumbling roads, relentless flooding and failing public transport system have overshadowed its tech-driven success. The Brand Bengaluru initiative, led by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, aimed to cement the city’s global stature, but poor planning and governance have dulled its sheen.

As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah prepares to unveil the state budget on 7 March, the question looms – will it be another branding exercise or a real blueprint for fixing Bengaluru’s broken infrastructure?

Civic activist Srinivas Alavalli emphasised on the need to address Bengaluru’s widening infrastructure gaps. “I am eager to see considerable funding directed towards enhancing public transport, especially for the BMTC, which is essential for the city’s mobility,” he said.

Notably, Shivakumar’s push for vanity projects such as tunnel roads and sky decks contradicts with the government’s stated goal of increasing public transport usage from 30 per cent to 70 per cent.

Alavalli also stressed the importance of investing in social infrastructure. “I also hope to see improvement in  social infrastructure, particularly anganwadis and primary health centres. It is also crucial to revive the State Finance Commission to ensure that all cities, including Bengaluru, receive their fair share of tax revenues based on a clear formula,” he said.

Ashish Verma, professor and convenor of the IISc Sustainable Transportation Lab, said, “Brand Bengaluru should prioritise making it a sustainable city. It should be reflected in this budget. The government must ensure affordable fares by directly supporting BMRCL, BMTC and K-RIDE while expediting MRTS expansion, adding more buses and implementing priority bus lanes. The budget must also focus on modern, people-centric mobility solutions.”