BENGALURU, 1 April 2026 — Today, as the city marked April Fool’s Day, a collective “Scream” echoed across Bengaluru. Led by Greenpeace India and a coalition of civil society groups under the Bengaluru Rising campaign, several citizen groups and individuals took to the streets in a series of public actions to protest the “absurdity” of current urban development.
“‘Stupid’ Projects quite simply put are those where there are massive delays causing disruption to people’s lives; where costs have escalated outrageously and the projects remain incomplete or they fail to solve the very problem that they were designed for. In the lead up to the GBA elections we are calling on all candidates to engage with these concerns raised by citizens and not allow Bangalore to be turned into a global stupidity!” said Amruta S.N., Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace India.
The major Scream interventions brought this critique into public space at sites that symbolise the failures of such “stupid projects.” At the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Arch Flyover—delayed for over four years—and the Dommasandra flyover, which has seen delays of nearly six years, the actions highlighted how prolonged, infrastructure-heavy projects continue to disrupt everyday life without delivering timely relief. At Mysuru Lamps, the intervention responded to the proposed loss of a vital urban forest space for a convention centre, raising concerns about the trade-offs between ecological preservation and large-scale development.
Find more information on above three projects here:
The “Scream” interventions served as a defiant response to a decade of development that has prioritized flyovers and road expansions over walkability, breathable air, and the city’s vanishing “green-blue” (lakes and parks) networks.
Find all the ‘Scream’ activity location and details of citizen groups here:
Kausatubh Rau, member of Malleswaram Social said, “Bengaluru must prioritise public spaces that align with its climate and biodiversity goals—and protecting existing green cover is the first step. The defunct Mysore Lamps factory, with its dense, forest-like canopy, offers a unique opportunity to create an inclusive, mixed-use public space. Turning it into a convention centre would serve only a narrow section of society while replacing vital green cover with concrete, worsening traffic, pollution, and urban heat, without addressing the urgent need for accessible public green spaces.”
The campaign follows months of Imaginariums—innovative, active-listening workshops held across the city with students, working professionals, old residents and new . Using art and theatre, these sessions captured a stark divide between The Government Vision: Massive, resource-intensive concrete structures that fail to reduce traffic vs The Citizen Vision: A “slower,” shaded, and interconnected city where the “last mile” is walked, not suffered.
Please see all photos and video here:
By choosing April 1st, the campaign highlighted the irony of a city known as the “Silicon Valley of the East” relying on outdated, mid-20th-century urban planning.
The “Scream” is not just a moment of venting; it is a call for the BBMP and the State Government to adopt the “Imaginarium” model—bringing citizens into decision
-making processes such as urban planning, budgeting and policy design –so that people are engaged in shaping the city, rather than left to live with the consequences of poor planning.
About Bengaluru Rising: Bengaluru Rising is a citizen-led movement supported by Greenpeace India and diverse civil society groups. It aims to reclaim the city’s urban narrative by centering the voices of its most vulnerable and everyday users in the planning process.
Media Contact:
Nibedita Saha, Media Officer,
Greenpeace India
[email protected]
Amruta S.N., Climate and Energy Campaigner,
Greenpeace India
[email protected]