Public transport not allowed on Wipro campus: Chairman Azim Premji

Azim Premji has declined Karnataka govt's request to allow vehicles through Wipro's Sarjapur campus, citing legal, governance and SEZ compliance issues in traffic plans

Wipro has said it will not allow public vehicular movement through its Sarjapur campus, as it is private property and a special economic zone (SEZ), turning down a Karnataka government request to ease severe traffic congestion in the area.

 

In a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Wipro founder-chairman Azim Premji said the company anticipated “significant legal, governance and statutory challenges” since the campus is owned by a listed company and “not intended for public thoroughfare”.

 

Premji wrote: “Our Sarjapur campus is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), providing services to global customers. Our contractual obligations mandate stringent, non-negotiable access control norms for governance and compliance. Moreover, public vehicular movement through a private property would not be effective as a sustainable long-term solution.”

 

 

Areas such as Sarjapur, Iblur and Bellandur on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) house hundreds of technology companies in numerous business parks, employing lakhs of people. This has resulted in notorious congestion, with commutes taking hours.

 

Wipro added that the problem’s complexity stemmed from multiple factors and could not be solved through a single-point measure.

 

“We believe the most effective path forward is to commission a comprehensive, scientific study led by an entity with world-class expertise in urban transport management. Such an exercise would allow us to develop a holistic roadmap of effective solutions that are implementable in the short, medium and long term,” Premji said.

 

The company, India’s fourth-largest IT services provider by revenue, said it was ready to participate in the process and bear a significant portion of the study’s cost. A collaborative, data-driven approach would yield better and long-lasting solutions, it added.

 

Siddaramaiah had written to Wipro last week, asking it to explore allowing limited vehicular movement through the campus to ease traffic congestion on the ORR and Iblur junction.

 

A traffic simulation study by the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) had recommended opening the Wipro–Ecoworld campus link road to the public, estimating that it could cut travel time along the Sarjapur Road–ORR corridor by nearly 38 per cent.

 

For years, the ORR has been emblematic of Bengaluru’s infrastructure struggles. It hosts state-of-the-art business parks that house companies such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Walmart, Microsoft, Google and IBM, but once outside, commuters face gridlocked roads and inadequate civic amenities.

 

Bengaluru, often dubbed India’s Silicon Valley and home to over 3,500 IT firms, continues to grapple with crumbling roads, chronic water shortages and inadequate drainage that leaves parts of the city waterlogged after even moderate rainfall.

 

Mounting frustration over the city’s traffic snarls — which ranked it third among the world’s most congested cities in 2024 — has raised concerns among start-ups and multinational firms. Executives cite lost productivity and missed opportunities, with some hinting at moving talent and operations to more navigable hubs such as Hyderabad.

 

Prominent voices in the tech community, including Setu API co-founder Nikhil Kumar and EaseMyTrip’s Prashant Pitti, have publicly criticised Bengaluru’s gridlock and ageing infrastructure.