A Canadian vlogger living in Bengaluru has claimed that civic authorities acted after his video highlighting the poor condition of footpaths in Indiranagar went viral online. Caleb Friesen, who has previously posted videos about Bengaluru's infrastructure challenges, recently shared a video showing damaged pavements, piles of rubble and large holes along 12th Main in Indiranagar. Criticising the state of the footpaths, he questioned how a city known as one of India's leading technology hubs could have such poor pedestrian infrastructure.
In the video, Friesen walked along the road and pointed out cracked and broken sections of the footpath, describing their condition as "pathetic". He argued that such infrastructure would be considered unacceptable in many other countries.
"Bengaluru is a pretty important city here in India. It's one of the tech capitals of the country," Friesen said in the video.
He also highlighted Indiranagar's status as a major hub for startups and venture capital firms, saying the condition of its footpaths did not match the city's reputation for innovation and technology.
The video showed broken pavements, scattered rubble and a large hole filled with rubbish. Friesen questioned how the debris had been left unattended and suggested that the problem extended beyond the stretch he was documenting. In a post accompanying the video, he said Indiranagar's footpaths should be safe, walkable and pedestrian-friendly.
The clip sparked widespread discussion on social media, with many users agreeing that Bengaluru needs better pedestrian infrastructure. Several commenters noted that similar issues can be found in other Indian cities as well.
However, in a follow-up post shared recently, Friesen said some of the locations featured in the video had already been repaired.
(Disclaimer: The report is based on user-generated social media content. The condition shown in the video has not been independently verified by NDTV. )
