Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has dismissed criticisms over Bengaluru’s deteriorating roads. He argued, saying that the issue is widespread across the country and not unique to the state.
He specifically mentioned New Delhi, asking reporters to check the condition of roads there, including those leading to the Prime Minister’s residence.
Shivakumar, who also holds the portfolio for Bengaluru development, stated that the government has a duty and a responsibility to fix the problem and is actively working on it. While speaking to the media, he said that work is ongoing daily to fill "about a thousand potholes in each of the five corporations in Bengaluru", despite the ongoing rain.
His comments follow recent public appeals from Bengaluru-based industry veterans like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. The city's poor infrastructure was also cited by online trucking platform BlackBuck as a reason for moving its office from the Outer Ring Road (ORR). The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has since announced a statewide road blockade protest on September 24. In response, Shivakumar questioned why the BJP did not maintain the roads while in power, accusing them of now raising the issue with civic body polls in mind.
In a separate development, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, is set to travel to Bihar with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to attend a Congress Working Committee meeting in Patna on September 24.
Also read: EC not cooperating with CID in vote deletion probe: Shivakumar
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