Video: Bengaluru Residents, Cops Face Off During Protests Over Potholes

A group of residents in Bengaluru, who were protesting over the city's poor road conditions, had a face-off with the police on Saturday morning as the officials asked them to stop their demonstrations.

A video of the incident showed the residents were seen holding placards with 'save Bengaluru roads' and 'fix roads' written on them. During this time, the police asked them to stop the protests, citing a lack of permission - which eventually turned into an argument. The cops even threatened to arrest them if they did not end the protest.

Many residents across the IT city have been staging protests, exposing its crumbling infrastructure.

Earlier this week, a viral video showed the dilapidated state of the road and footpath outside Google's Bengaluru office, with residents pointing out massive craters on the service roads, encroached footpaths, and the lack of safe walking space. "Let's see what it takes to walk outside Google Bengaluru. One word: unsafe. What should be the pride of Bengaluru is getting the least attention from GBA. The further you go, the worse it gets. We urge urgent action to restore safe, walkable footpaths here," the video was captioned.

In another incident, a school bus carrying children nearly toppled after slipping into slush on a road in Bengaluru, which has long been in a poor and pothole-ridden condition. A dashboard camera footage in the car behind the bus showed the driver attempting to overtake another school bus from the left when the vehicle veered slightly off the road, causing one of its tyres to sink into the soft ground. Locals rushed to the spot and quickly opened the emergency exit door, safely evacuating all the children onboard.

A week later, another school bus got stuck as one of its wheels sank into an under-construction stormwater drain, while a school van was stuck in an open drain.

Amid the rising criticism, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that the potholes are "not created" but develop because of "natural causes" and heavy rain.

"We are here to sort out the problem. The BJP is doing politics, let them do whatever they want. This evening, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is also conducting a meeting. Potholes are caused by nature, no one wants to create them. The increase in vehicles, heavy traffic, and excessive rain in Bengaluru has led to potholes. We have already filled more than 7,000 potholes, and there are still over 5,000 left on Bengaluru's roads. We have asked the Police Commissioner to submit a report on the condition of potholes," he said.