Man says drive to Bengaluru airport takes longer than his flight to Kolkata, questions city planning

A Kolkata-bound traveller has sparked a discussion about urban planning after claiming that his journey from Bengaluru’s HSR Layout to the city’s airport took longer than his flight to Kolkata.A man said his Bengaluru airport commute took longer than his flight to Kolkata, questioning the city’s planning. (Instagram/learning_markets_with_manish)(Also read: Woman says Bengaluru arrival needs two updates: ‘One at airport, another after reaching home 2 hours later’)The man, identified as Manish Kumar Singh, shared a video on Instagram while travelling car to Kempegowda International Airport to catch a flight to Kolkata.‘Longer than flying to Kolkata’“I am currently in Bengaluru, travelling from the city to the airport to catch a flight to Kolkata. Let me share something interesting with you. You may even find it amusing to hear just how much productive time people can lose because of poor urban planning in our country,” Singh said.(Also read: ‘Bangalore is still 2.5 hours away’: US founder’s post from airport sparks jokes)He claimed that travelling from Bengaluru city to the airport can take between two and a half and three hours, while his flight to Kolkata would take around two hours and 20 minutes.“In fact, it took me longer to travel from HSR Layout to Bengaluru airport than it will take to fly from Bengaluru to Kolkata. Now, tell me, should a city be planned in a way that makes reaching the airport so time-consuming?” he asked.Singh compared Bengaluru with international metropolitan cities such as New York and Chicago, saying that despite their size, passengers do not usually spend several hours reaching the airport.“The difference, however, is that their connectivity is so efficient that people can reach the airport from most parts of the city within 30 to 40 minutes. That is where we are falling behind,” he said.Questions raised over urban planningThe Instagram user argued that connectivity and transport infrastructure should be planned before an airport is constructed, rather than being considered later.“We cannot build an airport first and then begin thinking about how passengers will get there. The priority should be smooth traffic flow and thoughtful city planning so that people do not waste valuable and productive hours commuting,” he said.(Also read: Bengaluru woman says airport commute felt like a ‘survival trip’ after 3.5-hour journey from Bellandur)He added, “The situation has become so absurd that the time it takes to travel from one part of a city to another can be enough for someone to fly nearly 2,000 kilometres away. What exactly are we building in the name of development? What kind of urban planning are we following, and what kind of cities are we creating?”The clip was shared with the caption, “Our city planning is in total mess… Cities are not solving troubles of people but creating a bigger trouble.”Watch the clip here:Video draws reactionsThe video drew several reactions from social media users. “Yes, you’re right,” one person wrote, while another commented, “I agree with you sir.”Highlighting the additional waiting time at airports, a user said, “On top of that, you are expected to reach the airport two hours early. That means the entire journey ends up taking around four and a half hours.” Another viewer simply wrote, “This is true.”(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)