PRESS RELEASE: BBMP to Improve 75 City Junctions in Collaboration with Bengaluru Traffic Police and WRI India
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike announces Suraksha 75 Mission 23 to make Bengaluru’s junctions safer for pedestrians
Bengaluru, March 27: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) today announced the launch of the ‘Suraksha 75 Mission 2023’ that will look at redesigning 75 critical junctions in Bengaluru with the intent of smoothening traffic flow and making the junctions safer for all road users, particularly pedestrians. The initiative was launched by BBMP and Bengaluru Traffic Police (BPT), in collaboration with World Resources Institute India (WRI India), under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).
The Karnataka and BBMP Budget 2023-24 announced that 75 junctions of Bengaluru would be improved with Rs 150 crore allocated to the initative. Taking forward this ambitious vision, Suraksha 75 Mission 2023 was launched by Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai in the presence of Ms Sumalatha Ambareesh, member of parliament, Mandya district and Mr Tushar Girinath, Chief Commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) with representatives from BBMP and WRI India in attendance. The event also saw the reveal of Mission logo along with the launch of a dedicated webpage and a coffee table book that details BBMP’s junction redesign efforts over the years.
Intersections are complex spaces in any road network and often see conflict between various modes of transportation and pedestrians. Taking cognizance of this issue, BBMP has improved several junction in the city including Town Hall junction, Maurya junction, and Balekundri circle. Suraksha 75 Mission 2023 is an extention of these efforts and is focused on creating people centric and holistic intersection designs that are safe, efficient, inclusive and universally accessible. Suraksha75 will be managed under Bengaluru's Road Safety Cell under the BBMP TEC (Traffic Engineering Cell) with WRI India as knowledge partner.
Speaking at the launch Mr. Tushar Girinath IAS, BBMP Chief Commissioner, said, “BBMP in collaboration with Bengaluru Traffic Police aims to make 2023 the Suraksha year for Bengaluru. As declared in the Budget for 2023-24, we will focus on 75 critical junctions with high traffic volume and pedestrian density. It has been our constant endeavour to make our public spaces safe and inclusive for all sections of society. We are pleased to partner with WRI India, a globally recognized research organization, as our knowledge partner. We request support from citizens and all stakeholders to make this Mission succesful.”
Dr. MA Saleem IPS, Additional Director General of Police and Special Commissioner of Police Traffic, Bengaluru, pointed out, “With the number of vehicles in Bengaluru crossing one crore, and thousands of new vehicles being added every day, traffic congestion in the city is worsening. Pedestrian safety, particularly at junctions, is one of the biggest challenges we are facing today. We are pleased to be part of BBMP’s ambitious program Suraksha 75 Mission 2023 to redesign 75 critical junctions based on research on crash data and fatalities and other important factors. I believe this initiative has the potential to be a game changer for both pedestrian safety as well as for easing congestion in the city.”
Mr. Pawan Mulukutla, Director of Integrated Transport, Electric Mobility & Hydrogen, WRI India said, “We are delighted to partner with BBMP on this ambitious and much needed program to make Bengaluru’s junctions safer by design. WRI India has been working with BBMP and Bengaluru Traffic Police for several years now, under the BIGRS program, and Suraksha 75 gives us the opportunity to scale our ongoing critical work across all zones of Bengaluru. We look forward to working closely with BBMP’s Traffic Engineering Cell to redevelop these 75 junctions through the lens of urban design, civil engineering and traffic engineering.”
Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow Integrated Transport & Road Safety , WRI India added, “WRI India’s role will disseminate best practices from a safety perspective and conduct capacity building for all stakeholders from government engineer to private contractors and design consultants. Bengaluru is blessed with great weather all around the year and it will be our sincere endeavour to make Bengaluru a more walkable city.”
For more information about Suraksha 75 Mission 2023 please visit - https://site.bbmp.gov.in/suraksha75/index.html
Media contacts:
Tanushree Venkatraman | WRI India
Tanushree.venkatraman@wri.org
+91 9819761990
About WRI India
WRI India, an independent charity legally registered as the India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Our work focuses on building sustainable and livable cities and working towards a low carbon economy. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being. We are inspired by and associated with World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization with more than 400 experts and other staff around the world.
