Will Chief Minister Siddaramaiah please inspect the site before laying foundation on July 19?

Sir,

The recent news item that our Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is going to lay the foundation stone for the proposed New Bus Terminal at Bannimantap Bus Depot on July 19 should be a matter of great concern for the citizens of this heritage city.

The damaging effects of this project for the city have already been widely published in Star of Mysore in the recent past. If one were to peruse over the proposed “temporary routing of incoming and outgoing buses” it will expose very succinctly the impending chaos that will be created by the proposed project.

The entire residential layout in this area will be very adversely affected by the 24×7 heavy bus traffic. Consequential noise and dust pollution will make the life of the residents miserable.

With the expansion of the city boundaries beyond Outer Ring Road (ORR), Bannimantap Road has not remained only as Dasara Jumboo Savari Route, but has become the central transport vein of the city. Hence, putting up a new bus terminal adjoining historical ‘Banni Mantapa’ will very adversely affect the vehicular traffic on this critical location.

It looks as if the KSRTC has not assessed and learnt from the wrong decisions in expanding the existing bus terminals at K.R. Circle and Bengaluru-Nilgiri-Ooty Road or the other smaller new bus terminals around ORR.  One is compelled to suspect that such repeat wrong decisions are more intentional than by oversight!

CM Siddaramaiah is a Mysurean and he knows the city very intimately. Therefore, he must realise the long-term adverse consequences of this project to the heritage of his city. This one wrong step on his part will besmirch his name  permanently  in his home town.

It will be highly appropriate that he should visit Bannimantap Depot and survey the surrounding residential area, get the current traffic density data on Nelson Mandela Road from the authorities concerned and only then should he take necessary decisions in this regard. The choice is his to be remembered as a builder of Mysuru or otherwise.

It is no secret that Mysuru is already suffering from the very problems which Bengaluru is suffering from. Therefore, this might be the last opportunity for  the citizens of Mysuru to act and preserve the city’s heritage, whatever of it is left!  Let us all prevail upon our Chief Minister to reconsider this diabolic project and save Mysuru. 

— R. Chandra Prakash, Mysuru, 4.7.2025

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