Bengaluru potholes now appear to be so deep, that they are spawning all kinds of monsters, which well, have the potential to scare the hell out of someone caught unawares.
The latest one to rear its head out of the netherworld of deep, water-filled potholes is an anaconda, with a hand projecting out of its mouth.
In what has now become a series of attempts to embarrass the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike into taking the quality of roads seriously, a civic group in the city has installed an anaconda in Yeshwanthpur.
The Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF), a group working for the betterment of the city came up with the idea to call attention to the problem of water-logging in the city.
It took two days for Chitrakala Parishath graduate Pushparaj to complete the giant snake and install it on Sunday in the Yeshwanthpur market.
“There is humour, art, sarcasm in the craft, but more importantly, there is a deeper message in it that we are trying to deliver,” says Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO of Namma Bengaluru Foundation.
He says that residents are worried about potholes that are a regular feature on roads due to bad road maintenence and uncoordinated digging by various agencies. The lack of drainage systems has created a rise in diseases like malaria and dengue as stagnant water provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Installing the anaconda wasn’t an easy task as local goons tried to intimidate the artist and NBF members. Sridhar says that the goons stamped on the artwork and damaged it, but the presence of media forced them to retreat. The police requested the team to relocate the artwork.
The installation drew the attention of passers-by, especially the children who were fascinated by a giant anaconda lying in the middle of busy market area. Many engaged with the team, showing interest in participating in debates and discussion to solve Bengaluru’s problems, he adds.
On social media too, people were rather helpful with suggestions – several people said that there was plenty of scope for hippopatmuses, dinosaurs and even a Loch Ness monster to live comfortably in the gigantic water-filled pot-holes.
“There has been an overwhelming demand for anacondas and people are giving locations across the city for such installations,” says Sridhar.
Earlier, artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy had created a crocodile on a pothole, later floated paper boats on huge craters on the road.
