Wipro Declines CM Siddaramaiah’s Request to Open Campus Road for Public Traffic

Bengaluru’s persistent traffic crisis has prompted unusual proposals, but IT major Wipro has turned down Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s appeal to allow public use of an internal road passing through its Sarjapur campus. The request was made as part of efforts to ease congestion on the city’s Outer Ring Road (ORR), one of the most clogged stretches in the tech hub.

In a formal response, Wipro founder Azim Premji explained that the campus falls within a notified Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which brings legal and contractual restrictions. According to him, SEZ governance mandates strict access controls, and the company is bound by compliance obligations that prevent it from opening the road to the general public. Premji stressed that while the concern for Bengaluru’s traffic woes is genuine, such an ad hoc measure cannot provide a lasting solution.

Acknowledging the severity of congestion on the ORR and across Bengaluru, Premji assured the government of Wipro’s commitment to help find sustainable alternatives. He proposed commissioning a detailed expert study in urban transport management to create a roadmap for short-, medium- and long-term measures. Wipro, he said, would be willing to contribute financially to such a study and work alongside the government to implement its recommendations.

Premji thanked the Chief Minister for recognising Wipro’s role in Karnataka’s growth but maintained that there is “no silver bullet” for the city’s traffic problems. Effective relief, he suggested, can only come from comprehensive planning that involves multiple stakeholders and robust infrastructure upgrades.

The episode reflects the tension between leveraging private resources and addressing public challenges in rapidly expanding cities. With Wipro holding its ground, attention may now shift toward long-term urban transport reforms to ease the strain on Bengaluru’s roads.