'Bengaluru is home for us': BlackBuck co-founder says not moving out of city amid pothole row

Bengaluru: After announcing his decision to move out of ORR (Bellandur), Bengaluru-based logistics tech company BlackBuck co-founder and CEO Rajesh Yabaji on Thursday clarified that they will not only continue to remain in the city of Bengaluru, but will also expand their footprint here.

"Bengaluru is home for us and as always, we continue to remain committed to relay our needs and issues to the relevant government authorities and seek support to get them resolved," he posted on X.

On September 16, Yabaji tweeted saying that they are moving out of ORR due to potholes & dust, coupled with the lowest intent to get them rectified. He also said that they are not seeing any of these changing in the next five years. Following his tweet, former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw called for an urgent intervention of the Karnataka government.

Shaw tweeted that she 100% agrees with this powerful plea (of Pai) to everyone in the government who needs to act fast. “Bangalore is an economic powerhouse, and if we shut it down through ignorant neglect, the entire country will suffer,” she posted.

Soon after Yabaji’s tweet, Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh invited BlackBuck to relocate its operations to Visakhapatnam.

“Hi Rajesh, can I interest you in relocating your company to Vizag? We are rated among top 5 cleanest cities in India, are building best-in-class infra, and have been rated the safest city for women. Please send me a DM,” he posted on X.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also tweeted, saying that Bengaluru’s roads are getting the attention they need, and repair work is already underway. "Funds have been allocated, contractors have started work and have been given strict deadlines. We are committed to providing our people with safer and smoother travel," he said.

Following this, Yabaji clarified that he would not move out of the city. BlackBuck started its operations in 2015 from Bengaluru, beginning from a small office near the Sony Signal at Koramangala.

"As we expanded our operations and teams, we moved to the Bellandur-Outer Ring Road (ORR) in 2016 for larger office spaces and better-suited facilities. The ORR, the city of Bengaluru and the state of Karnataka have enabled the company with the needed resources, infrastructure, talent density and opportunities to grow into a large company, making a meaningful impact across the trucking ecosystem in India," he added on X.

He also said that, as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Karnataka tech ecosystem over the decade, they fully understand what the city of Bengaluru has helped them achieve and how it will be playing a major role in unlocking its potential ahead.

"Hence, we unilaterally refute the claims made by some media outlets that we are considering moving out of the city. We are only relocating within the city to a different location, which will facilitate an easy commute for our employees. As we do this, we want to reiterate that a large part of operations would still continue to happen on the ORR, and hence we will continue to seek help from the concerned authorities to enable infrastructure improvements to facilitate smooth business operations," he added.