Representative image of potholes. Inset: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy
Credit: iStock Photo, PTI Photo
New Delhi: Slamming the Congress ruled Karnataka government over Bengaluru infrastructure, Union Steel and Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday said it is "tragic" that the city is now gaining infamy as the "city of potholes".
“The proud city of Bengaluru, built by Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, has suffered a severe blow to its reputation. It is tragic that Bengaluru is now gaining infamy as the 'City of Potholes',” Kumaraswamy said in a post on X.
Claiming that industries are losing faith in Karnataka and migrating to neighbouring states, the former chief minister urged them not to leave the city. "We will make Bengaluru great again."
The Union Minister remarks came after industry veterans in Bengaluru like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw urged the state government to immediately intervene, after online trucking platform BlackBuck decided to move the company out of its current location at Bellandur on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing commuting and road infrastructure issues.
“To the industries, my only appeal is this: do not leave Bengaluru. This city carries a great legacy and rich heritage. We will teach this thick-skinned government a lesson. We, the people of Karnataka, stand firmly with you. Remove the thought of leaving from your minds: together, we will rebuild Bengaluru. We will make Bengaluru great again,” Kumaraswamy posted.
Alleging that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar are responsible for this "disgrace", he said, “Today, Bengaluru and Karnataka are trapped in the hands of the incompetent and the corrupt. At every step, there is a death trap of potholes; everywhere one looks, heaps of garbage. Is this what they call Greater Bengaluru? What is BBMP doing, swallowing taxpayers’ money while doing nothing?”
Noting that industrialists were right in calling this an "utter failure of governance", Kumaraswamy said, "You don't need a mirror to see a festering wound. For the first time in history, industries themselves have so strongly exposed the government's failures. This government has neither shame nor self-respect. It has trampled on the pride of Kannadigas."
When it comes to levying taxes, this government shows rocket speed, but when it comes to filling potholes, it doesn't even have the speed of a tortoise. "It shows madness in looting, but utter neglect towards development. State development has been sacrificed at the altar of election guarantees, while Greater Bengaluru is collapsing," he said.
"The government must answer, where is the taxpayers' money going? Whose pockets is it filling? The people deserve an answer," he added.
Claiming that industries are losing faith in Karnataka and migrating to neighbouring states, the Union Minister, who is MP from Mandya said, those states have been waiting for this very moment, and are offering one concession after another to attract them.
"This shameless government (in Karnataka) cannot even understand the gravity of the situation, its senses have gone numb," Kumaraswamy said.