Amidst tiff with industrialists in Bengaluru over the poor state of infrastructure, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ordered authorities to fill all potholes in the capital city within a week. He added that authorities have been directed to do white-topping, and it will last for several years.
Flagging off several development projects in the city, Siddaramaiah said, "I was speaking to officials, including Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority Maheshwar Rao and Additional Chief Secretary to the Government, Urban Development Department Tushar Girinath. Within a week, potholes should be filled," Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah's directive comes amid a tiff with prominent businessmen in Bengaluru over shortcomings in its infrastructure, most recently with Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. The chief minister said filling potholes got delayed owing to the rains. Saying white-topped roads can last for several years, Siddaramaiah added that work is underway in several parts of the city.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the minister for Bengaluru development, said over 10,000 potholes have been filled so far. "We have filled over 10,000 potholes till now. The Bommai government had filed an affidavit in the court that there were about 20,000 potholes in the city. We have given the public and traffic police the opportunity to identify and report potholes. We are working in a transparent way," he said. He also accused the central government and BJP MPs of "not cooperating in Bengaluru's development."
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Meanwhile, Biocon's chief met Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah on Tuesday, reportedly to extend Diwali greetings. Recently, in a Twitter post, Shaw highlighted the poor state of roads and waste management in the city, urging the state government to take action. However, the government did not take the criticism lightly, leading to a war of words online.
After the meeting, Shivakumar told presspersons that industry leaders have agreed to cooperate with the development of Bengaluru and they will not hurt the city.