"Potholes Are Everywhere, Outside PM's House In Delhi Too": DK Shivakumar

There are potholes everywhere, including in front of the Prime Minister's residence in the national capital Delhi, Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said today as he stressed that the state government is working overtime to fill potholes in Bengaluru.

"We are filling all potholes. We are working despite the rain. Two hundred potholes are being filled in every corporation area daily. About 1,000 potholes are being filled in a day in Bengaluru," Mr Shivakumar, also the minister for Bengaluru development, told the media.

"I went to Delhi. I saw potholes there. I urge you to ask your reporters in Delhi to go and see how many potholes there are, including in front of the Prime Minister's house. I want to say this to the big IT companies, too; these issues exist everywhere. It's a problem that exists across the country, we have a duty and we are doing it, but to only show this about Karnataka is not right," the Deputy Chief Minister said, adding that the pothole issue in Bengaluru also persisted during the BJP's rule. "If BJP had maintained the roads well, this wouldn't have happened. They didn't. Let it be, we will do our work."

The potholes in the country's IT capital made national headlines after key voices in India Inc flagged the state of Bengaluru's roads and its traffic woes. Rajesh Yabaji, CEO and co-founder of BlackBuck, announced that the logistics firm had decided to shift out of Bellandur, the firm's address for nine years. "But it's now very-very hard to continue here. We have decided to move out," he said in a post on X. Citing the reasons behind the big decision, he said, "Average commute for my colleagues shot up to 1.5+ hrs (one way). Roads full of potholes and dust, coupled with the lowest intent to get them rectified. Didn't see any of this changing in the next 5 years," the CEO said. Many on social media echoed his concerns. The BlackBuck CEO later clarified that the firm would relocate within Bengaluru and trashed reports that its office is moving out of the city.

NDTV earlier spoke to Mr Shivakumar about India Inc's concerns. He had then said his government is working to address the issue, but added that no one can stop any company from moving. "But no one can match Bengaluru and the infrastructure we provide. Before they came to Bengaluru, they saw what it offers and then made a decision," he said.