Political battle over potholes in Bengaluru spills onto streets

BJP leaders hold demonstrations by filling potholes in Bengaluru; they stage 'rasta roko' protest in other parts of the State

Bengaluru: After trading barbs with the ruling Congress in Karnataka over the poor state of roads and "neglect" of infrastructure, particularly in Bengaluru, the Opposition BJP staged a statewide protest against the government on Wednesday.

While in Bengaluru, BJP leaders held demonstrations by filling potholes, in various other parts of the State 'rasta roko' (road blockade) protests were held.

The BJP has planned similar protests in all the 224 Assembly constituencies across the State.

The protest in Bengaluru's Yelahanka was led by MLA S R Vishwanath. Former legislators, leaders and party workers staged a demonstration by filling potholes in the party's north Bengaluru region.

The protests came a day after Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the pothole issue was there across the country, including the national capital of New Delhi, and the media projecting as if the issue was there only in Karnataka was not right.

Shivakumar, who is also the Minister in charge of Bengaluru Development, said that the government had the duty and the responsibility to fix the issue, and it was working on it. "Work is on daily to fill about thousand potholes in each corporation (five corporations in Bengaluru)," he said.

He also hit out at the BJP for not maintaining the roads while in power and raising the issue now, keeping civic body elections in mind.

Earlier, the Deputy Chief Minister had said the city was set for a major push in road development with Rs 1,100 crore allocated for repair and construction.

The Congress government is facing criticism from various sections over the condition of roads in the State, especially those in Bengaluru that are riddled with potholes.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah last week set a one-month deadline for authorities to ensure that all the potholes are fixed and the roads are in good condition.

Several prominent people, including industry leaders in Bengaluru like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw had recently urged the State government to immediately intervene.

The outrage against the condition of roads gained momentum following online trucking platform BlackBuck deciding to move the company out of its current location at Bellandur on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing commuting and road infrastructure issues.

(With PTI inputs)