Hundreds gathered at Freedom Park on Saturday under the banner of the Bengaluru TownHall collective to protest against the proposed Tunnel Road project, the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act (GBGA), and amendments reducing lake buffer zones. The demonstrators demanded reliable public transport, enforcement of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, and stronger safeguards for Bengaluru’s fragile environment.
Protesters warned that unplanned urbanisation, ecological degradation, and governance failures are pushing the city towards collapse. They accused the state government of bypassing constitutional mandates, ignoring due process, and advancing arbitrary non-plan projects detrimental to Bengaluru’s future.
Kathyayini Chamraj, Executive Trustee of CIVIC Bangalore, stated that GBGA undermines the 74th CAA by centralising control with the state government, disempowering citizens, and weakening ward-level planning. She noted that the Tunnel Road project was disapproved by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) as inconsistent with mobility goals, yet the government is proceeding regardless.
Sandeep Anirudhan from Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru criticised proposals to shrink lake buffer zones, warning that without protecting lakes, wetlands, and green cover, the city’s ecological balance would collapse. He stressed that the government has failed to establish a metropolitan planning authority, a proper master plan, and devolved governance.
Actor-activist Prakash Belawadi questioned the tunnel project’s viability, arguing that expanding Metro and suburban rail could transport far more people at lower cost. He revealed that citizens are preparing legal challenges in the Supreme Court against GBGA and in the National Green Tribunal against tunnel and other non-plan projects.