By Bl Bengaluru Bureau

Copyright thehindubusinessline

To ease the chronic traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) corridor in Bengaluru, particularly near the Iblur junction, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Wipro founder-chairman Azim Premji.

The ORR stretch, notorious for its bumper-to-bumper traffic, is home to several major IT companies, including Google, Microsoft, SAP, Cisco, Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, Cognizant, Capgemini, IBM, Oracle, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Many of these firms operate out of large business parks such as Ecospace Business Park, Embassy Tech Village, and Prestige Tech Park.

Proposal: Limited access through Wipro campus

In a letter dated September 19, Siddaramaiah suggested allowing limited vehicular movement through the Wipro campus, subject to mutually agreed-upon terms and security protocols. “Preliminary assessments by traffic and urban mobility experts suggest that such a measure could reduce congestion on adjoining stretches of the ORR by nearly 30 percent, especially during peak office hours,” the CM noted.

Viral post, protests spur government action

The move comes in the wake of a viral post by BlackBuck CEO Rajesh Yabaji highlighting the poor state of ORR traffic. His remarks triggered public outrage, prompting the CM to convene a high-level meeting, direct senior officials to inspect the road, and residents to stage protests. Yabaji had written that the average commute for employees now takes more than 90 minutes one way, with little hope of improvement in the next five years. He later clarified that he was not leaving Bengaluru altogether, but relocating operations outside the city.

Published on September 23, 2025