Artist places mermaid on Bengaluru’s pothole-ridden road to protest menace
Bengaluru, (TN): An artist in Bengaluru, fed up with the abysmal condition of the city’s roads, on Friday, protested in a unique way against the pothole-filled streets. The artist placed a mermaid character sitting in a pothole at a busy junction in Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park.
“Some five deaths have taken place because of potholes. Potholes are a problem. I am just highlighting the issue. I want the government to fix the problem,” the artist, Baadal said, speaking to ANI.
The citizens have been protesting the sad state of affairs of the city roads. The people in Bengaluru on Thursday carried out a “funeral march” of the road of the locality, stating that the road was equal to a “death road.”
Four people have fallen victim to Bengaluru’s pothole-ridden roads, but Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has absolved the civic body of all responsibilities, going to the extent of suggesting that the deaths were accidental, and not due to bad roads.
‘Not because of potholes, because of accidents,” Siddaramaiah told reporters when asked about the deaths.
Killer potholes in the state have claimed four lives in just 10 days. A 19-year-old woman was crushed under a truck after she fell into a pothole-ridden stretch on National Highway 207 on Tuesday evening.
On Tuesday, a woman riding pillion on a two-wheeler was killed when a truck rammed the vehicle as the rider was trying to avoid a pothole near Devanahalli, on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Three days ago, a woman was run over by a truck when the motorcycle she was riding pillion on, skidded near Nayandahalli while the rider (her nephew) was trying to negotiate a pothole.
About a week ago, an elderly couple lost their lives when a bus ran over them on Mysuru road flyover as they were trying to avoid a pothole. The couple was trying to rush their grandchild to a hospital and luckily the child survived the accident with some injuries.
The Karnataka government and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic body, came under sharp criticism following the incident. However, the condition of the roads elsewhere in the state, other than Bengaluru, is also in tatters.
On Monday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had blamed torrential rains for the potholes in Bengaluru and has promised to rid the city of potholes in a fortnight.