Bengaluru: Silicon Valley of India or Valley of Potholes?
The Hindu
Going by the number of deadlines and changes in deadlines to fill potholes, it seems like no one takes these deadlines seriously
In the second half of October, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced celebrations of ‘pothole habba’, or a festival of potholes, in Bengaluru to highlight an issue that has been a sore point among citizens for long.
Bengaluru is a hub of the revolutionary changes being brought about in our lives by advances in the use of information technology and is called the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, but its civic officials are unable to build one decent road.
At least 3 persons lost their lives in this monsoon on account of potholes on roads.
Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”