'Bengaluru ahead of Ahmedabad': Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara responds amid backlash

This comees after concerns raised by BharatAgri CEO, who had praised Ahmedabad for its better roads and smoother traffic flow, while criticizing Bengaluru.

Karnataka's Home Minister G Parameshwara has hit back at recent criticism of Bengaluru's traffic situation, arguing that the city is ahead of others, including Ahmedabad, when it comes to leveraging technology for traffic management.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara. (HT)

His comments come in response to concerns raised by Siddharth Dialani, co-founder of BharatAgri, who had praised Ahmedabad for its better roads and smoother traffic flow, while criticizing Bengaluru's traffic chaos and poor infrastructure.

Parameshwara, while acknowledging the city's traffic challenges, emphasized Bengaluru's technological advancements in traffic control, pointing out that the city’s signal timing system has been in place since 1973, New 18 reported.

In contrast, he claimed, Ahmedabad's system is much younger. He also highlighted Bengaluru’s efforts to integrate artificial intelligence and other technological solutions for better traffic management.

In a recent social media post, Dialani had compared the two cities, stating that Ahmedabad was at least a decade ahead of Bengaluru in terms of road quality, traffic signals, and overall traffic management. He particularly pointed out the lack of functioning timers on Bengaluru’s traffic lights, which he believes contributes to driver frustration. In response, Parameshwara argued that the city's traffic police are continuously working to improve coordination with civic agencies to enhance road design and maintenance. He assured that Bengaluru's authorities are committed to eventually achieving the best traffic system in the country, even if they currently face challenges.

Parameshwara further defended Bengaluru by comparing the city's traffic speeds to those of other major metros. He pointed out that the average time to travel one kilometer in Bengaluru is better than in cities like Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. Bengaluru’s average stands at 18.47 minutes per kilometer, while cities like Hyderabad and Pune perform worse with averages of 23.40 and 22.45 minutes, respectively, the report further added.

Despite these comparisons, Parameshwara acknowledged the city's need for improvement and reassured citizens that the government is focused on making Bengaluru the best example of traffic management in India.