Karnataka

The average Bengalurean's guide to understanding the city's potholes

Written by : Benita Chacko, Megha Varier

In the last two months, potholes on Bengaluru’s roads have claimed the lives of three people in two separate accidents.

The city’s roads have always claimed their share of fatalities, but in recent times, exasperation with civic authorities has been at an all-time high with the large crater-like holes even inspiring art.

A few months back, musician Raghu Dixit had said that Bengaluru was “so amazingly unsafe for its citizens” after he met with an accident and ended up with fractured fingers. He blamed his bike accident on the potholes on the road.

The News Minute had then gone on a day-long hunt to learn if Dixit may have been exaggerating a tad bit, and whether it was an attempt to malign our dear Garden City, and indeed, we felt that unfortunately it turned out that there was no conspiracy.

We present - the average Bengalurean's guide to understanding the city's potholes.

After BBMP’s disastrous attempt at creating public art by painting a quarter of the city with images of cats, dogs and tigers in forests etc, BBMP has decided to attempt modern art. The meaning of this master piece on Lavelle Road which was 47 inches long is open to interpretation. (We thought it looked like a dinosaur).

This pothole on Church Street is BBMP's hopscotch maybe. 

We know the government is really inspired by Singapore’s landscape, but stretch of Brigade Road is really taking urban design too far. One does not conduct driving tests on roads open for traffic.

Now we come to the really good stuff. The “awwww” moments. Who said that the government was this huge insensitive monolith? It can be philosophical and metaphorical too. This pothole - 10 inches deep - at the end of Church Street is BBMP’s way of saying look before you leap. It’s free advice, take it.

This one here, is truly, the hand of God, working his magic to show the people of Bengaluru that BBMP does indeed, love us, and that even though it can’t fix the potholes, it ensures that it leaves "Little Hearts" for us. This "pothole-heart" in front of an Army Institute measures eight inches at its deepest point.

The English alphabet starts with ABC, and BBMP starts with a 23-inch long "P" on MG Road.

We really think this girl is making a mountain of a molehill.

(This is an updated copy)

All photographs by Benita Chacko and Mehga Varier 

 

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