After Shivakumar's 'God can't fix Bengaluru traffic' remark, Karnataka home minister says city not built for huge population

A day after Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar's statement on Bengaluru traffic stirred a controversy, State Home Minister G Parmeshwara defended him.

Parmeshwara said the city was not built for a huge population and that they are looking at many alternatives.

"Bangalore was not built for such a huge population and a large number of vehicles... We don't have an infrastructure for that. Unless we spread out Bangalore, traffic is always going to be a challenge in the city," Parmeshwara was quoted as saying by ANI.



"Our Minister in charge, DK Shivakumar, is looking at many alternatives, one of which is going underground... But these (projects) can not be a short-term measure. It will take a long time," he added.

Shivakumar earlier said that even God can't fix Bengaluru traffic in the next two or three years, has come under severe criticism from the BJP, with leader of opposition R Ashoka on Friday demanding that the former step down and make way for someone more capable if he is unable to take responsibility and address the city's traffic issues.

Speaking at an event on Thursday Shivakumar said, "I want to tell the media friends and others, even if God himself comes down from above, he cannot do anything (to fix) Bengaluru within the next one year, two year, or three year. Such is the difficulty. We have to plan properly, implement the projects properly, and we are making efforts to give a proper outline for the days ahead."