Watch: Bengaluru residents overtake BBMP, clean accident-prone road; DK Shivakumar reacts

Residents and schools in Balagere took an unprecedented initiative this past Sunday, foregoing their usual break to address the pressing safety concerns along the Kadubeesanahalli to Varthur road stretch. This area has become notorious for accidents, posing significant risks to both drivers and pedestrians alike.

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This community-driven effort was spurred after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru's civic administrative body, cited financial constraints and ceased maintenance work along the road, reports said. Faced with frequent two-wheeler skids and severe traffic congestion, residents armed themselves with work gloves and began clearing a nearly three km stretch of accumulated silt, a task typically managed by municipal authorities.

Students, who often find themselves delayed due to the resulting traffic snarls, enthusiastically joined the clean up drive. A video of the residents' clean up drive made rounds on social media site ‘X’, triggering a discussion on the duties of the civic body and the allegedly sub-standard infrastructure provided to residents in the tech hub presently.

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“Techies in Bengaluru work for corporates in weekdays, earn, pay tax and self-close tickets of BBMP on weekends,” a user posted on ‘X’.

Responding to the citizens' proactive stance, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, acknowledged the issue and swiftly directed the BBMP to take immediate corrective measures.

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“Sometimes some lessons turn out to be the best learnings, and taking cue from the incident of Bengaluru residents cleaning Balagere Road, the concerned officials at BBMP have been personally instructed by me to take immediate action,” he wrote.

“The comfort and safety of our Bengaluru residents is of priority to us, and therefore BBMP has been also instructed to ensure that no such incident is ever repeated again in the future,” he added.