Bengaluru fills 13,000 potholes, DK Shivakumar promises 'permanent solution' to city's road woes

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced that officials have been instructed to prepare a Rs 1,100 crore action plan aimed at upgrading 550 km of the city’s major arterial roads.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also oversees Bengaluru Development, on Tuesday said that 13,000 potholes have been filled so far in Bengaluru and promised a “permanent solution” to the city’s chronic road problems.

Shivakumar announced that officials have been instructed to prepare a Rs 1,100 crore action plan aimed at upgrading 550 km of the city’s major arterial roads. He personally inspected ongoing pothole repair and roadwork projects across Bengaluru.

Authorities have identified an additional 4,000–5,000 potholes, which will be filled in phases. Last week, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had directed civic authorities to make all city roads motorable within 30 days.

Inspected the ongoing road improvement works at Kasturba Road with senior officials. Directed teams to focus on quality and timely execution in line with the vision of Brand Bengaluru.

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರ ಪ್ರದಕ್ಷಿಣೆಯ ಅಂಗವಾಗಿ, ಇಂದು ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿ ಆಡಳಿತಾಧಿಕಾರಿ ಶ್ರೀ ತುಷಾರ್ ಗಿರಿನಾಥ್, ಜಿಬಿಎ… pic.twitter.com/jkymDoLiNm

— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) September 30, 2025

“The officials are following government orders and filling potholes. At the same time, I have instructed them to prepare a Rs 1,100 crore plan for developing arterial roads,” Shivakumar said. He added that concreting junctions along main roads will take about 26 days, with traffic management strategies currently being discussed. The CM has also promised to allocate Rs 750 crore specifically for pothole filling.

At the local ward level, another Rs 1,100 crore has been sanctioned for road development in constituencies, with clear instructions that the funds be used exclusively for improving road infrastructure.

Shivakumar highlighted that each repaired pothole has been documented with photos, videos, and GPS records for verification. Additionally, a dedicated mobile app has been launched for citizens to report potholes, with police support in identifying trouble spots.

“Such a system is unique to Karnataka,” he said, pointing out that potholes exist in other major cities too, including Delhi. “As Bengaluru is a global city, the issue is being highlighted more. But potholes are there in Delhi too, I can take a delegation of BJP leaders and show them," he said.

Shivakumar even suggested approaching the Prime Minister and central ministers for financial support and invited BJP leaders to join him in the effort.

The state government has faced sharp criticism over the deteriorating road conditions. Industry leaders, including former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, have called for urgent action. Public outrage intensified after online trucking platform BlackBuck decided to shift operations from Bellandur on the Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing poor infrastructure and traffic challenges.