A Bengaluru resident has sparked a new debate on traffic problems in the city after he said on his flight from Bengaluru to Kolkata that the journey from home to the airport would take less time than from home to the airport. The comment, posted in a now-viral social media video, has won him no fanboys from the city's residents who say long commutes to Kempegowda International Airport are becoming a reality.
The man criticized what he called ineffective urban planning, claiming that Bengaluru’s infrastructure has fallen short of the pace of growth. Transportation challenges in the city are not merely an inconvenience but are the inevitable consequences of years of bad planning, he said.
In the video, he said he had travelled around a variety of countries and the big cities like New York and Chicago and never had airport commutes that would take several hours.
"Our city planning is in total mess. Cities are not solving the troubles of people but creating bigger troubles," he said in the video.
Because the city’s population is growing and development of infrastructure will not keep pace, he also said, he was concerned that the situation would get worse in the upcoming years.
The man also questioned the planning of new airports in India such that authorities continue to build major aviation hubs in ways that make access difficult for commuters.
Airport connectivity should, as he said, be a fundamental point of consideration in planning rather than an afterthought once traffic congestion has already become a problem.
The video, shared on Instagram by the account learning_markets_with_manish, instantly gained attention and resulted in thousands of views and a wave of comments from users who have experienced that.
Social media users also agreed with his observations, saying Bengaluru’s worsening traffic has become one of the city’s biggest challenges.
One user said traffic management also needs improvement in terms of traffic management.
"I agree. There has been no planning of traffic management. No traffic police are on the roads. Proper training and a better system are needed. Nobody is following the rules."
Others countered that Bengaluru’s infrastructure was never designed to accommodate the city’s explosive growth as India’s technology capital.
One commenter wrote that the city’s original expansion plans underestimated population growth.
"When the IT expansion had happened, the government had planned for a 30 to 40 percent population increase. But Bengaluru became an IT hub. The total population almost doubled."
Another user pointed out the wider infrastructure problems as well, saying road conditions are bad and metro expansion has not gone faster than just getting the work done so that congestion is less severe.
The viral conversation mirrors a larger discussion that has permeated Bengaluru for years. Rapid urbanisation, a thriving IT industry, and the explosion in the population have led to huge pressures on the road network and public transport in the city. Projects such as the Namma Metro expansion and new road infrastructure have been established but many city residents are still stuck with long journey times when travelling to the airport.
It is worth noting that Times Now did not independently verify the claims or the authenticity of the viral post. But the video is a reminder of the frustration of Bengaluru residents who are frustrated with traffic problems and the city’s growing road/foot traffic and the continued debate about whether development of infrastructure is not keeping pace with the city’s rapid growth.
