Chaired a meeting with Bengaluru’s MLAs and MLCs today to review the city’s infrastructure priorities, ongoing projects and future development plans. We are prioritising a major infrastructure push, including 40 km of tunnel corridors, 120 km of elevated corridors, 500 km of new road connections, upgrades to 1,500 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads, redevelopment of the 17 km Outer Ring Road and a proposed 37 km double-decker road. We are also expanding the Metro network from 96 km to 170 km by 2027, adding 4,500 buses and developing 150 km of suburban rail connectivity by 2030. Our plans include additional Cauvery water supply, phased upgrades of 65 urbanised gram panchayats outside GBA limits, improved waste management and a 10-year development roadmap ahead of Bengaluru’s 500th anniversary in 2037, with an estimated investment of ₹1 lakh crore. We are committed to ensuring fair and balanced development across all constituencies, with adequate funding and timely implementation of priority works. Our commitment is to build a better-connected, cleaner and future-ready Bengaluru.

China has a large number of High Speed Trains that cover this distance in 35 minutes. Our @IASassociation biradari and politicians go on tax paid study tours but will keep expanding this polluting- car first option that takes 5 times the travel time! We are like sheep to accept it!! We will keep paying higher tolls too. No hope!!

Have you tried the new Nagara Meter App? I have. It is smooth as silk with a great UI. Transparently shows the Govt. rates. Had a good experience on the few rides I have made with them. One thing I noticed is happy professional drivers as they earn their full deserved fare.

Bengaluru's voter count falls to 59 lakh from 1.03 crore after SIR, down 43% The final roll comprises 28,67,256 male voters, 30,40,221 female voters and 674 electors belonging to the third-gender category. moneycontrol.com/news/india/…

Bengaluru: B-SMILE projects are based on erroneous traffic numbers. Why? They used outdated PCU (Passenger Car Unit) factors to arrive at traffic numbers. In 2022 IRC issued updated PCU values. [See below] Bengaluru: Stop blind walking into bad projects without scrutiny🙏🏽

For two years, I travelled from Badlapur to Nariman Point by local train to CSMT, followed by a taxi. Before that, I spent three years commuting from Badlapur to Andheri. Then, one day, during peak hours, while boarding a CSMT-bound local at Badlapur, I slipped on the platform and narrowly escaped falling into the gap between the platform and the tracks. I survived that day. But something changed. That was the end of my daily commute by local trains. I told myself, never again. I chose to pay nearly six times the rent to live in Vikhroli, closer to work, so I could commute by bike or cab instead. Of course, my expenses shot up. But I gained something I had begun to take for granted: peace of mind. I could finally sleep without nightmares of falling off a packed local train. I know this comes from a place of privilege. Millions of Mumbaikars living in the distant suburbs have little choice but to depend on local trains. Not everyone can afford to move closer to work or pay for an alternative commute. But if you can afford to make that choice and are still putting it off, please reconsider. Mumbai's local trains are the city's lifeline. But for those of us forced to travel in dangerously overcrowded conditions, they can also become a death trap. No commute should come at the cost of your life. If you have a way out, take it.

Over the past week, B-SMILE has re-invited bids for nine flyover projects across Bengaluru after cancelling the earlier tenders. Among them, the proposed flyover on the Old Madras Road–Hosur Road stretch has been revised, with the Indiranagar alignment dropped.