Snaky art to prod BBMP into fixing potholes

That the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) isn’t doing much to fix potholes is well-known. But how to prod it into action?

Two nonprofits took a rather unusual way to make this point. They conducted an art campaign at the busy Yeshwantpur Circle near the tempo stand and invited artists to create art pieces to highlight the dangers of potholes across the City. One art installation caught the people’s attention: An oversized snake craning out of a pothole filled with stagnant water. A hand emerges out of the snake’s mouth and blood spills all around.

The installation was created by six artists over the last few days and fixed at the place on Sunday. “It highlights the danger of potholes and the possible health hazards of stagnant water,” said M Lakshmikant, a research associate at Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF), which conducted the campaign along with the Bangalore Residents’ Associations’ Confederation Ensemble (Brace). Brace is a group of more than 750 Resident Welfare Associations. The two organisations’ volunteers also distributed pamphlets among citizens, asking them to vote for the “right candidate” in the upcoming BBMP elections.

Usha Dhanaraj of the NBF said art installations highlighting civic issues would come up at Kathriguppe on Monday and Bellandur on Tuesday.

Besides, the NBF will hold ward-level debates at the following places: August 12 (Uttarahalli), August 13 (Shettihalli), August 14 (Sanjaynagar), August 15 (Varthur), August 16 (Yeshwantpur), August 17 (Kathriguppe), August 18 (Nagapura) and August 19 (Kodigehalli). Citizens can give a missed call on 080-67264778 to get passes to take part in the debate.