Potholes have become a national concern. Many accidents and deaths are happening. The road condition is also deteriorating in many cities, with people’s complaints and grievances falling on deaf ears. Every day on social media, accidents of bikes and vehicles due to bad roads are seen, but it seems local authorities have little to do with it.
The potholes have turned out to be a gigantic problem in Bengaluru. Citizens of Jayanagar staged a unique protest against years of neglect by performing a puja at a troublesome pothole on the day of Varamahalakshmi Vratham.
A video shared by India Today captures a ritual being performed at a large, water-filled pothole by a man and a woman. The couple is offering flower petals, turmeric powder, and kumkum to the pothole, mimicking traditional worship practices. It is called ‘Gundi Pujan’ and was staged to get the civic authorities to take note of the worsening conditions of city roads.
Jyothi V, a local resident, expressed ire over the inaction of Bengaluru’s civic body. “We’ve tried everything from videos to social media posts, but nothing changed,” she told TOI. Jyothi and her neighbors have been dealing with this particular pothole for over one year now, stating that despite being a road that MP Tejasvi Surya and MLA CK Ramamurthy use frequently, it has not been attended to.
Jyothi said that BBMP elections might bring more attention to their issues. She also said that recently, a temple priest was injured after he fell into the pothole.
Now, the reactions to the protest were varied. One user commented, “And the Govt says it wants a 2nd International airport in Bengaluru….first mend the roads.create proper drainage system for the incoming monsoon and Provide clean potable water to drink…2nd, 3rd and 4th International airports can Wait !!!!!” Another suggested that the potholes should be named after party leaders to bring about awareness and even suggested names like Sonia Crater and Rahul Crater.
While many applauded the protest as an out-of-the-box idea, others were more cynical and said nothing, not even a plethora of pujas, would make any difference. This is not the first time that the residents of Bengaluru have resorted to puja to draw attention towards bad roads; a similar protest was held in 2021 to help prevent accidents due to dangerous roads.