‘Traffic is good, it’s reflection of a growing city’: Priyank Kharge on Bengaluru traffic congestion

BENGALURU: IT Minister Priyank Kharge made a bizarre statement about the increasing traffic in Bengaluru and reiterated the same at an event.

Taking to his X handle, Priyank Kharge wrote that Bengaluru’s mobility story reflects both our success and our challenges. “We’re one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, with our GDP projected to grow at over 8.5pc annually for the next decade” he noted.

“Today, Bengaluru has over 1.2 crore registered vehicles — nearly 82 lakh two-wheelers and 25 lakh cars. Last year alone, we added more than 7 lakh new vehicles to our roads. 58,913 new vehicles were registered in August 2025 alone”, the post read.

“While these numbers are a reflection of a growing city, they are also an indication of why our roads are bursting at the seams. The government is solving these challenges collaboratively with think tanks and corporates”, he wrote.

At an event, Minister Priyank Kharge on Bengaluru’s mounting traffic issue that “traffic congestion is a ‘good problem’ to have, as it indicates the city’s progress and economic growth. “Just to give you a perspective on what scale Bengaluru is growing, last year India saw an unprecedented office space increase close to around 72 million sqft., including the top 7 cities, out of which 40 per cent in Bengaluru”, he said.

#WATCH | Bengaluru | On Bengaluru’s mounting traffic issue, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge says, “…Just to give you a perspective on what scale Bengaluru is growing, last year India saw an unprecedented office space increase close to around 72 million sq. ft., including top… pic.twitter.com/YpvDrZ6S9a

— ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2025

“This year, till September, we have seen office space growth close to 14.5 million sqft, so we say, ‘Why does Bengaluru have so much traffic?’ We are growing rapidly, Bengaluru’s population increasing by 2.5 per cent every year; the highest absorption of migration is happening here. That’s why we have infrastructural problems. Soaking in these numbers, we realise at what rapid speed we are growing; therefore, now we are slowly moving things out of Bengaluru…”

The minister has sparked controversy with his comments on Bengaluru’s traffic issues. People are criticising his bizarre words that despite people losing time in traffic, he took it in a positive manner and went to another level.