Congress Government’s Volte Face: “Even God Cannot Change Bengaluru in 2-3 Years”
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 21: The BJP has launched scathing attack on the ruling Congress in Karnataka on the deputy chief minister DK Shivkumar’s remarks that even God would not be able to change the state capital Bengaluru in 2-3 years considering the problems created by rapid urbanisation.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka commenting on Mr Shivkumar’s remarks said the people of the state did not have any expectations from the government of Congress or DK Shivakumar and that this government was a curse to Karnataka as well as Bengaluru. He said that people in the state were waiting for the removal of the “hopeless” Congress government.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar accepted that Bengaluru has been facing immense challenges because of rapid urbanisation and the problems won’t even be solved by divine intervention immediately.
Speaking to media persons, Mr Shivkumar had said, “I would like to convey to the media personnel here that even if God himself descends from heaven and walks on the streets of Bengaluru, nothing will change within one, two, or even three years.” “The situation is extremely challenging. We need to plan properly and implement projects effectively. We are making an effort to develop a better corridor for the future,” the Deputy Chief Minister added. Mr Ashoka criticised Mr Shivakumar for his remarks and wrote on X, “After admitting that there is no money for development work in @INCKarnataka Govt, Part-time Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar now says even if God comes down, Bengaluru cannot be changed for the next 2-3 years.”
He added that people did not have any expectations from Congress government and were only waiting for the time when it could be overthrown.
The traffic in Bengaluru has remained a major challenge for the government with inadequate public transport, narrow roads and insufficient effective planning. Mr Shivakumar had a year ago said their government has fixed 96 per cent of the potholes in Bengaluru streets. He had told the state Assembly then that under the Brand Bengaluru project, 16,202 potholes were identified between April 1-June 30, 2024 within BBMP limits and 15,686 (96%) have been already fixed while 516 still needed to be repaired.
After four months, Shivakumar said a 15-day deadline had been set up for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to fill all the potholes in the city. “I asked the BBMP commissioner to fill all the potholes in Bengaluru in the next 15 days. The civic body found 2,795 potholes across the city and they will be filled with the cost of Rs660 crores. Compared to previous years, people are now less affected due to rains,” he had said.
