Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai on Wednesday took to X (formerly Twitter) to sharply criticise Bengaluru’s pothole repair work, calling it “pathetic” and “very primitive.”
Sharing an image of a shoddy pothole fix that appeared to be nothing more than a patchwork of loose stones, Pai tagged Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike), writing, “Pothole engineering in Bengaluru. Pathetic. Big shame. Is this road repair? Very primitive.”
The post sparked a wave of angry responses from citizens, many of whom echoed Pai’s frustration over the state of Bengaluru’s roads and civic apathy.
How did X users react?
{{/usCountry}}The post sparked a wave of angry responses from citizens, many of whom echoed Pai’s frustration over the state of Bengaluru’s roads and civic apathy.
How did X users react?
{{/usCountry}}One user pointed out the pitfalls of awarding contracts to the lowest bidder:
“Road repair contracts should never be given to L1. They will be 100% substandard… All works should be inspected by a third party and bills cleared only after passing quality checks.”
Another user highlighted systemic failures in road construction and maintenance, “Sad to see poor quality roads to begin with. Even worse is zero maintenance. Fake repair work is a catastrophe. Contractors should face penalties if roads fail within five years. Officials must be held accountable.”
Parents from East Bengaluru also chimed in. A resident near Vagdevi Vilas and Vibgyor schools in Varthur wrote, “My kid asked, ‘Is this really the Silicon Valley of India?’ There are no roads, only patches where we zigzag daily.”
Meanwhile, BBMP Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao held a rain preparedness review meeting recently in light of the India Meteorological Department’s forecast for Bengaluru. He instructed civic officials to prioritise pothole-filling operations across arterial and sub-arterial roads and to use cold mix for repairs during the monsoon.
Officials were also directed to focus on flood-prone zones and complete pending pothole work on a war footing.
(With agency inputs)
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