Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s wake-up call: Why Bengaluru’s ‘pathetic’ waste mess won’t go away

Bengaluru’s simmering debate over civic infrastructure reignited on Thursday, with Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw taking aim at the city’s garbage crisis a day after her public standoff with Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar.

In a sharp post on X (formerly Twitter), Mazumdar-Shaw described India’s waste management problem as a “serious malaise”, censuring major urban municipalities for their persistent inefficiency.

“Garbage is a serious malaise countrywide and no municipality of big cities has managed to solve it. Indore and Surat seemed to have cracked it, but Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, etc., haven’t. Very very pathetic, which shows citizens’ lack of civic sense and huge apathy by both citizens and administration. We lack pride,” she wrote.

Garbage is a serious malaise countrywide n no municipality of big cities has managed to solve it. Indore n Surat seemed to have cracked it but mumbai delhi Bengaluru etc haven’t. Very very pathetic which shows citizens lack of civic sense n huge apathy by both citizens n… https://t.co/rpBf0rZlaL

— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) October 16, 2025

Her remarks followed earlier criticism of Bengaluru’s “creaking” infrastructure, including poor roads and chronic traffic chaos. Citing historical negligence, she argued that the city’s challenges stemmed from “past governments’ failure to act in time”.

She added that the present administration now had “the opportunity to change and act fast to fix these decades of deteriorating infrastructure”, urging ministers to hold the Greater Bengaluru Authority accountable “for the shoddy and slow work.”

The remarks struck a raw political nerve. As reported by TOI, Shivakumar lashed out, accusing the Biocon chief of “betrayal” and of tarnishing the image of the very state and country that had helped her succeed.

The deputy chief minister, who oversees the Bengaluru development portfolio, insisted that infrastructure work was steadily improving, reiterated by several Congress ministers in coordinated statements defending the administration’s record.

But support for Mazumdar-Shaw built swiftly online. Prominent citizen collective Whitefield Rising (@WFRising) termed the government’s response a “classic deflection tactic”, warning residents against political posturing. Another user, Viky (@urstrulyvikass), wrote, “Ma’am, we stand with you. It’s our fundamental right to ask or raise questions. We pay taxes and we should get basic infrastructure, water and electricity.”

The confrontation has exposed widening fault lines between civic activists and the state government, reflecting mounting public anger over Bengaluru’s infrastructure flaws - from garbage overflow to crumbling roads and clogged drains.