Bengaluru, 19 Nov 

The Institute of Engineers (India) wrote a letter to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar saying that the proposed tunnel road was the only way to decongest the City’s traffic. 

The proposed 16.7 km project between Hebbal and Silk Board has drawn flak from the Opposition BJP and experts alike over its feasibility, cost and the damage it could cause to the environment, namely Lalbagh Botanical Garden, which it will go under. 

However, the Institute said that tunnel roads were “more suggested” for the environment. 

The letter, written by the Institute on 11 November and shared by Shivakumar on 19 November, also noted that Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had said that the “only solution” to solve the City’s traffic congestion was to construct “multi-layered and tunnel roads.” 

The letter said that the tunnel road could hold around 25 lakh vehicles, thereby significantly reducing traffic in the City.