‘Hideous, horrible, shoddy’: Bengaluru beautification work backfires after Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, residents mock it

A civic clean-up project in Malleswaram faced backlash for its poor quality, with citizens criticizing the Greater Bengaluru Authority's work.

A civic clean-up and “beautification” project in Malleswaram has snowballed into a debate on social media after entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and several Bengalureans slammed the quality of work showcased by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).

The authority had posted a video on social media showing the removal of a black spot in Malleswaram. (X/@GBA_office)

The authority had posted a video on social media showing the removal of a black spot at Malleswaram BBMP School Road by the Bengaluru West City Corporation team, led by Assistant Executive Engineer Rekha.

The post, titled “Blackspot Removal & Beautification Update”, described the effort as a success and urged residents not to litter, “The blackspot at Malleswaram BBMP School Road has been successfully removed and the area beautified… Let’s keep our surroundings clean and beautiful.”

While the GBA celebrated the project, the response online was anything but flattering.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson of Biocon, directly questioned the quality of the work. Sharing the video, she wrote, “Are you really proud of this? You reclaimed the footpath but it’s still shoddily finished. Full marks for effort but please ensure good quality finishing.”

Her remark triggered a wave of criticism from citizens who felt the work was substandard and poorly executed.

One user lashed out, “The finish is worse than any poor country in the world. Couldn’t digest that GBA is this bad. Horrible work. The workers who did the job should never ever be given any job. There is no pride in their work.”

Another echoed the sentiment, saying, “It feels like an achievement when you do what you are paid to do once in three months. That pavement is still hideous looking.”

Several others questioned the idea of celebrating such projects in the first place. One comment read, “Are we really celebrating this? Is this called beautification?” Another added, “The situation in this country is that even basic things need to be celebrated, which are actually part of the authorities’ regular work.”

Amid the outrage, a few acknowledged that the intent behind the clean-up was good but argued that it simply wasn’t enough. As one user put it, “Your efforts are good, but not enough.”