CM Siddaramaiah asks Premji to open Wipro road to ease Bengaluru traffic

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has made an unusual appeal to one of India’s most respected business leaders, asking Wipro founder Azim Premji to open a section of the company’s private campus road to public vehicles. The request, aimed at easing crippling congestion on Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road (ORR), highlights how infrastructure shortfalls are forcing the state to seek corporate help in tackling civic problems.

According to The Hindu, Siddaramaiah wrote that “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%, particularly during peak office hours.” The Chief Minister said Wipro’s cooperation “would go a long way toward easing traffic bottlenecks, improving commuter experience, and contributing to a more efficient and liveable Bengaluru.”

At the centre of the debate is Wipro’s Ecoworld campus, located near Iblur junction, one of the busiest choke points on the ORR–Sarjapur Road corridor. The road network inside the campus connects Sarjapur Road to Devarabeesanahalli junction. It was briefly open to the public several years ago, but later closed to secure corporate traffic flow.

Now, as gridlock worsens along the ORR — home to many of Bengaluru’s largest technology parks — the government wants to divert part of the traffic through Wipro’s internal road system.

Data behind the request

A traffic simulation study conducted by Arcadis, in collaboration with the Bengaluru Traffic Police, tested the impact of reopening the Wipro–Ecoworld road. The results were striking:

• Average travel time dropped from 35 minutes to 21.5 minutes in the corridor, a reduction of nearly 38.5%.
  
  

• Average delays fell from 15 minutes to 11.7 minutes.
  
  

• Queue lengths reduced significantly at critical points.
  
  

• Around 2,000 vehicles would directly benefit during each peak period, saving roughly 14 minutes per journey.
  
  

In total, the study estimated a daily saving of 470 vehicle-hours during peak traffic. While average travel speed rose only slightly, the improvement in congestion was clear.

Gopal M. Byakod, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic, South), told The Hindu that the road had previously been operational. “Reopening would lead to a massive drop in the congestion along the ORR stretch,” he said.

For Bengaluru’s technology sector, the issue is more than traffic relief. The ORR corridor houses companies including Infosys, Accenture, Cisco, Goldman Sachs and a host of Indian startups. Congestion has become a reputational risk, with at least one logistics technology firm reportedly relocating away from the corridor because of chronic delays.

The Greater Bengaluru IT Companies and Industries Association (GBITCIA) welcomed the Chief Minister’s letter, describing it as “a proactive proposal.” In a statement, the association said: “Our association stands ready to collaborate with government agencies, corporate stakeholders, and civic groups to ensure the successful implementation of the Wipro campus proposal. This initiative, along with broader infrastructure upgrades, will help restore global confidence in Bengaluru’s IT corridor and sustain its reputation as India’s tech capital.”

The episode raises questions about the balance between private property and public need. Wipro, like other IT majors, has invested heavily in secure campus environments designed for employee movement. Opening gates to public vehicles introduces risks — from security and liability to the disruption of corporate traffic flow.

Yet the political pressure is mounting. For Siddaramaiah, the stakes are high: Bengaluru’s congestion is not just a civic inconvenience but an economic bottleneck threatening India’s showcase technology hub. For Premji, one of the country’s most respected business statesmen, the decision carries symbolic weight — whether a corporate campus can double up as a civic artery when a city needs relief.