"I waited a year for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to cover up this one pothole in Double Road in Bengaluru. I commute on that road regularly and not one day has there been no accidents caused by the crater. So with the help of volunteers I covered it up," says 40-year-old Sumera Bhanu, who heads Farzz, an NGO in Bengaluru.
Sumera and Mohsin Ahmed (45), who have been running 'Farzz' for 4 years, have been covering up potholes in Bengaluru for the last one and a half years. The duo along with a few student volunteers have together covered up 61 potholes in the city.
Asked why they have taken up this initiative, Sumera said, "We are doing this because as citizens we too have a few responsibilities. By this, we are not sayng BBMP has not been doing enough. They have too many things on their hands and are unable to manage," she said.\
We are doing this with our money because we can't ask the government for funds yet, Sumera added.
"Before we start work, we take the permission of BBMP and the police. We use quality materials, all materials are shell petroleum. We also follow the guidelines on how to fill craters and keep a check on the potholes we have repaired," she said.
The NGO is now looking to start India icare drive to repair roads in 23 developed and underdeveloped places in India.
"From November 15 to December 22, the NGO plans to go to Chennai, Pune, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Nagpur and repair roads there. It also plans to reach out to villages around the cities," Sumera said.