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If you live in Bengaluru, you must be aware of the poor infrastructure. Often considered inadequate, issues like unending traffic, inconsistent road quality and struggles to keep pace with the city’s public transport have become immensely common. Despite the development efforts by the government, it is a major concern for residents. Now, a post has surfaced on social media that features a vintage invitation from the year that marked the inauguration of Jayanagar, one of Bengaluru’s earliest planned neighbourhoods. Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared several images of the invitation, sparking a debate over how the city lost its original vision of structured urban planning and civic foresight. Dropping the image, Surya wrote that the invitation serves as “a reminder of how Bengaluru went from Jayanagar’s planned blueprint to today’s maddening chaos.” He said the invitation reflected an era when leaders approached city-building not merely as an inauguration but as nation-building, with engineers, architects and visionaries, not contractors, leading the process. ‘Jayanagar was built like Tokyo or London’ According to Surya, the layout of Jayanagar was conceived by the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB), precursor to the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA), under the influence of Sir M Visvesvaraya and the Mysore Maharajas. The layout was designed on principles followed by global city-planning principles like those in Tokyo, New York and London. It featured grid layouts, separate civic and commercial zones, tree-lined roads and broad pedestrian-friendly footpaths. He noted that the very act of inviting the Governor-General of India to inaugurate a residential layout reflected the seriousness with which planners once approached urban development. “Where there were walkable boulevards, we now have potholes and parking chaos. Where there were civic squares, we now have encroachments and flyovers,” he wrote, blaming successive governments for turning once visionary planning bodies like the BDA into “contractors’ departments.” He also said that the city’s development reflected the loss of long-term planning in favour of short-term fixes. This invitation from history of Jayanagara’s inauguration in 1948 is a reminder of how Bengaluru went from Jayanagar’s planned blueprint to today’s maddening chaos. The invitation reveals the seriousness with which our leaders once approached city-building. It wasn’t merely an… pic.twitter.com/kTl0Bq2vWX — Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) October 27, 2025 How Are Social Media Users Reacting? The MP’s remarks have since sparked widespread discussion online, with users echoing concerns over Bengaluru’s deteriorating infrastructure and lack of civic discipline. “Thanks for sharing, Tejasvi! It’s truly heartwarming to revisit the historical background of this beautifully planned part of Bengaluru,” read a comment. Another said, “Kindly bring forth the same respect to urban planning, design and basic civic sense and empathy for other people in your own constituency, sir!” “Nice note and also calling out apathy cutting across party lines. What has laid us low is not lack of knowledge or foresight but greed and corruption. Add lack of civic sense. There is a need for people like @TVMohandasPai and @kiranshaw to actually step in,” a user pointed out. An individual stated, “You said it “Urbanisation is India’s destiny. But without leadership like the Mysuru Maharajas or Sir Visvesvaraya’s, it may also become our greatest failure.” Hope your leadership sees this post…” “Very well said. Just a few days back while travelling on the roads of Jaynagar, it felt so tragic seeing garbage, encroachments and chaos. The least that Jaynagar should have had was a pedestrian-friendly infrastructure with broad, neat and clean footpaths. Even that is missing,” posted another. What Did Tejaswi Surya Want? In the post, Surya also called for a return to Bengaluru’s founding ethos. He said, “Plan before building. Design for people, not vehicles. The story of Jayanagar should inspire a new generation of urban reformers to ask what kind of city we want to leave behind, a monument to neglect or a model of vision and inspiration.” “Urbanisation is India’s destiny. But without leadership like the Mysuru Maharajas or Sir Visvesvaraya’s, it may also become our greatest failure,” he concluded.
