Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Nirupama Rao Call Out Broken Bengaluru Roads

Prominent Bengaluru residents Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and former foreign secretary Nirupama Menon Rao have publicly raised serious concerns over the city's crumbling infrastructure, calling urgent attention to poorly maintained roads along Brunton Cross Road and key industrial stretches.

Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Monday took to social media to highlight the deteriorating state of a 7-kilometer industrial corridor. She reported that the route is riddled with roughly 350 potholes and lacks basic footpaths, despite serving as a lifeline for over 1,000 industries in the area. Tagging Industries Minister MB Patil in her post, Mazumdar-Shaw cited years of neglect by the Public Works Department and demanded immediate intervention.

Separately, former foreign secretary Nirupama Menon Rao raised similar concerns in a recent Facebook post regarding civic upkeep around Brunton Cross Road, where she resides. Rao compared current road conditions to 1966, the year she moved to Bengaluru, observing that the municipal infrastructure today appears reminiscent of or even worse than that era.

Describing the road near her home as a busy two-way thoroughfare, Rao pointed out broken pavements, open drains, excavated sections left open for long periods, scattered construction debris, and uncollected garbage. She added that hazardous walkways and poor traffic management continue to cause significant disruption to local residents.

Rao noted that municipal authorities have been working on repairing the road and drainage system for over a year. Despite months of disruption, she reported little visible progress or public accountability, describing the situation as a broader failure of governance and civic management.

To address the issue on that stretch, private real estate group Prestige previously announced a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative under the "Namma Raste" programme to redevelop Brunton Road. The project involves resurfacing the road, rebuilding footpaths and drains, and installing a new lighting system, though construction work remains ongoing.

Civic complaints regarding Bengaluru's road conditions have drawn attention in the past. Last year, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar responded to similar grievances by promising to prioritize road repairs and pothole filling while calling for collective public support. Officials noted that Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda have consistently prioritized improving city roads.