Following BlackBuck’s dramatic exit from Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) due to infrastructure woes, the Greater Bengaluru IT Companies & Industries Association (GBITCIA) has unveiled a comprehensive action plan to tackle the city’s traffic nightmare while pushing back against attempts by other states to poach tech companies.
The industry body’s intervention comes after Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday courted BlackBuck CEO Rajesh Yabaji on social media, offering to relocate the logistics tech firm to Visakhapatnam following the company’s announcement that it was abandoning its Bellandur office owing to deteriorating road conditions and extreme congestion.
“We recognise Andhra Pradesh’s efforts to attract IT investments, but Bengaluru’s unique ecosystem of talent, innovation, and business networks is unparalleled,” said Krishna Kumar Gowda, general secretary of the GBITCIA in a statement. “We call on the Karnataka Government to urgently address the infrastructure challenges outlined by firms like BlackBuck.”
BlackBuck announced on Tuesday its decision to vacate its office at Bellandur after nine years of operations.
“ORR (Bellandur) has been our ‘office + home’ for the last 9 years. But it’s now very-very hard to continue here,” BlackBuck CEO Rajesh Yabaji wrote on X. “Average commute for my colleagues shot up to 1.5+ hours (one way). Roads full of potholes and dust, coupled with the lowest intent to get them rectified. I didn’t see any of this changing in the next 5 years.”
Long-term infrastructure overhaul
The GBITCIA has proposed a multi-pronged approach targeting both immediate relief and long-term infrastructure overhaul. Immediate measures include implementing staggered office hours, expanding work-from-home policies on high-congestion weekdays, and incentivising company shuttle services while encouraging greater use of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s underutilised AC and Vajra Express buses.
The GBITCIA also recommends temporary operational changes such as strategic traffic diversions, restricted entry-exit points at bottlenecks, enhanced carpooling initiatives, and even mandating reduced single-occupancy vehicle usage during peak hours.
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For sustainable solutions, the industry body is pushing for accelerated completion of the Blue Line Metro with seamless last-mile connectivity, comprehensive ORR modernisation with dedicated bus lanes, and development of “smart junctions” with data-driven traffic management.
“The decision of BlackBuck to move out of the ORR must serve as a serious wake-up call. Bengaluru’s reputation as India’s tech capital rests on infrastructure and ease-of-business,” the association stated, calling for a transparent roadmap on road repairs and public transport upgrades.
The GBITCIA emphasised its readiness to collaborate with government agencies “to restore confidence and retain our world-class talent and companies”.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar assured that infrastructure improvements were already underway.
“Bengaluru’s roads are getting the attention they need, and repair work is already underway. Funds have been allocated, contractors have started work and have been given strict deadlines. We are committed to providing our people with safer and smoother travel,” he said.
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The controversy highlights broader concerns about Bengaluru’s ability to retain its status as India’s premier tech destination. The ORR corridor employs 9.5 lakh people across 500 companies and contributes 36 per cent to the city’s annual IT revenue, making infrastructure failures a threat to the entire ecosystem.