BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s crumbling roads have turned commuting into a civic nightmare, and 91-year-old legal veteran KN Subba Reddy is ready to drag the government to court.
Reddy, former BJP MLA and eight-time Advocates’ Association president, told TNIE, “The condition of roads in Bengaluru is so bad I will file a PIL in about a week’s time.” This isn’t just a warning -- years ago, his PIL led to the Karnataka High Court, under then Chief Justice NK Sodhi, forming a high-powered committee to monitor city roads.
Pothole repairs were done under strict Indian Road Congress norms and civic agencies were held accountable. Civic experts had called it the golden period in Bengaluru’s road history, because the number of potholes dropped to a bare minimum, and the city’s roads in the post 2004 period earned accolades.
Now the IT-BT capital tells a different story -- badly cratered road stretches, sloppy repairs, and mounting public anger. BJP state president BY Vijayendra made a stinging jab: “The issue isn’t potholes on roads, it’s roads inside potholes.” His party has turned civic outrage into a political rallying point, with senior leaders slamming the government’s “utter neglect”.
On September 24, the BJP held statewide protests -- from pothole-filling drives in Yelahanka, Basavanagudi and Mahalakshmi Layout to road blockades across Karnataka. Many business leaders joined the chorus, branding the situation “a great shame” and sign of administrative failure.
DCM DK Shivakumar had countered it by blaming BJP’s “misrule” for the mess, claiming 13,000+ potholes had been filled since Congress took office. He announced Rs 750-crore allocation and set October 31 as the deadline for repairs, but experts say the government may not be able to repair even a portion of the city’s roads in the three weeks left.
In the past few months, there is a surge in road accident deaths linked to poor roads and potholes, leading to visible anger against the government. Union minister HD Kumaraswamy termed it a “sacrifice for Congress commission” and blamed brazen corruption in contracts.
AAP leader Prithvi Reddy said, “The Congress came to power accusing the BJP of 40% commission, but now it is said corruption is more. How can you have good roads when only a portion of money goes into building roads.”