Deputy CM Shivakumar to hold meeting with industry leaders, urban experts on Bengaluru infrastructure

BENGALURU: With Brand Bengaluru taking a hit due to potholed roads, traffic mess and crumbling infrastructure, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has planned to hold a meeting  with industry leaders and urban planning experts. The state government decided to form five separate city
corporations in Bengaluru under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) with a view to decentralise administration. The Deputy CM himself is fully
involved in the formation of the five corporations and division of wards.

Highlighting the pathetic condition of road and the long commute, Rajesh Yabaji, co-founder and CEO of BlackBuck, a logistics company, posted on X
two days ago saying, “ORR  (Bellandur) has been our “office + home” for the last 9 years. But it’s now very-very hard to continue here. (broken heart
emoji). We have decided to move out. Background:- Average commute for my colleagues shot up to 1.5+ hrs (one way) – Roads full of potholes & dust, coupled with lowest intent to get them rectified – Didn’t see any of this changing in the next 5 years”.

Responding to his post, Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh wrote, “Hi Rajesh, can I interest you in relocating your company to Vizag? We are rated among top 5 cleanest cities in India, are building best-in-class infra, and have been rated the safest city for women. Please send me a DM”.

On Thursday, Rajesh Yabaji posted on X to clarify that the company was only moving out of Bellandur and not out of Bengaluru. He wrote, “Clarification. BlackBuck started its operations in the year 2015 from Bengaluru, beginning from a small office near the Sony Signal at Koramangala. As we expanded our operations and teams, we moved to the Bellandur-Outer Ring Road (ORR) in 2016 for larger office spaces and better suited
facilities. The ORR, The city of Bengaluru and The state of Karnataka has enabled the company with the needed resources, infrastructure, talent
density and opportunities to grow into a large company, making a meaningful impact across the trucking ecosystem in India”.

pic.twitter.com/om5N2A4o19

— Rajesh Yabaji (@YABAJI) September 18, 2025

“As one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Karnataka tech-ecosystem over the last decade, we fully understand what  the city of Bengaluru has helped
us achieve and how it will be playing a major role in unlocking our potential ahead. Hence, we unilaterally refute the claims made by some media outlets that we are considering moving out of the city. We are only relocating within the city to a different location, which will facilitate an easy commute for our employees. As we do this, we want to reiterate that a large part of operations would still continue to happen on the ORR, and hence we will continue to seek help from the concerned authorities to enable infrastructure improvements to facilitate smooth business operations”.

“We will not only continue to remain in the city of Bengaluru, but will also expand our footprint here. Bengaluru is home for us and as always, we
continue to remain committed to relay our needs and issues to the relevant government authorities and seek support to get them resolved”, Yabaji wrote.

Several other entrepreneurs and industry leaders have also repeatedly highlighted the condition of the city infrastructure. Hence, Deputy CM Shivakumar plans to hold a meeting with them and find solutions to the city’s problems, while also briefing them about the creation of the GBA, sources said.

The proud city of Bengaluru, built by Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, has suffered a severe blow to its reputation. It is tragic that Bengaluru is now gaining infamy as the “City of Potholes.”

The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are responsible for this disgrace. Today,…

— ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ.ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ | HD Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) September 18, 2025

On Thursday, while reacting to Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s post on X that Bengaluru has suffered a severe blow to its reputation and was
gaining infamy as the ‘City of  Potholes’, Shivakumar shot back saying Kumaraswamy had done nothing as Union minister and Parliament member.

“Why didn’t he get the nod for  the Mekedatu project in one minute? He claims to be PM Modi’s right hand man and a farmer’s son, but did not raise his voice about the state’s issues. After Wednesday night’s heavy rain, about 20 potholes surfaced around Vidhana Soudha. The CM has called for a meeting on Saturday”, Shivakumar said.

On Nara Lokesh’s invitation to Rajesh Yabaji, Shivakumar remarked, “They have no industrialists and that’s why they are inviting people. Why did PM Modi refer to Bengaluru as a global city? Industry leaders are indulging in politics. Anybody can post on social media, but if they want to do politics, they should join politics”, he remarked.