‘My own kids fight with me,’ Bengaluru’s traffic woes hit home for DK Shivakumar: Report

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar acknowledged Bengaluru's severe traffic congestion and said it is affecting even his family.

Published on: Aug 15, 2025, 12:24:06 IST

By HT News Desk, Bengaluru

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It’s not just commuters losing patience with Bengaluru’s traffic gridlock - Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar says the frustration has reached his own dinner table.

Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar suggested flyovers as a potential solution for Bengaluru's traffic. (ANI)

During a discussion in the legislative council on Thursday, Shivakumar revealed that his children regularly scold him over the city’s nightmarish congestion and aging road network, The Times of India reported.

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"Bengaluru is not as planned as New Delhi. The road dimensions have remained the same since city founder Kempegowda's time, but vehicle numbers have exploded. It can take six to seven hours to travel just 10-15 km. My own kids complain it takes up to three hours to reach some parts of the city and fight with me. High court judges who commute to work from Hebbal have also been complaining that it takes 45 minutes to travel to work," he told the publication.

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Responding to BJP MLC CT Ravi’s remarks that Bengaluru residents waste an average of 117 hours a year stuck in traffic, Shivakumar said the problem is growing rapidly. With over 1.2 crore registered vehicles and 40 lakh more entering daily from nearby districts, the city’s outdated road design hasn’t kept up.

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With road widening no longer viable due to sky-high land costs, Shivakumar suggested scaling up elevated corridors and double-decker flyovers as long-term alternatives, according to the report. However, the city continues to grapple with a heated debate over more roads versus mass transit options like the metro - a clash between quick fixes for current congestion and sustainable, long-term urban mobility solutions.

Bengaluru is becoming increasingly infamous for its worsening traffic snarls, riddled with incomplete flyovers, stalled metro stretches, and delayed roadworks that choke movement daily. With pothole-ridden roads, monsoons only magnify the misery, turning key routes into waterlogged traps due to poor drainage systems. Across the city, shoddy infrastructure exposes a glaring gap between plans and execution.

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