'Walking in Bengaluru is an extreme sport': Techie complains of broken footpaths in viral video

A software professional in Bengaluru recently equated walking in the city to playing an extreme sport after he narrowly escaped falling and getting hurt while trying to board a bus at Konanakunte bus stop near Forum South Mall last week.

"Walking in Bengaluru is an extreme sport. Need the skill to balance on tiny concrete strips and to jump from footpath to road!" Yogeesh Prabhuswamy Gandige, 41, wrote on X and shared a couple of videos showing the broken footpaths, rainwater sponge drains, and debris lying on the pavement and the road.

One of the videos also showed bus commuters standing atop the rainwater sponge structures precariously, waiting for their turn to board a bus. Gandige was supposed to board the same bus but had to give it a miss because he did not want to rush over the pavement. "No, I didn't dare take this bus! Just one slip and a lifetime injury - that's how pedestrians are treated in the so-called 'Infra Era'!" he wrote.

Speaking to Moneycontrol, Yogeesh said that he frequently uses the Konanakunte bus stop, and the condition of the footpath and the road often causes him anxiety and delays.

Several X users identified the drain structures as rainwater sponges that were part of Bengaluru's smart city plans. Others claimed that most footpaths in the city are irregular and can prove disastrous.