BJP MP Tejasvi Surya compares Bengaluru infra to Mumbai, says TCS marathon turned obstacle
MP
Tejasvi Surya
on Sunday criticised Bengaluru's civic infrastructure after participating in the
TCS World 10K run
in the city. He called it a 'matter of shame' that global athletes and citizens had to navigate pothole-filled and garbage-stinking roads, painting a poor picture of the government's flagship initiative of '
Brand Bengaluru
.' He also compared his experience to the Mumbai Marathon, calling it incredible.
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'Just two months ago, I ran in the Mumbai Marathon, and the experience was incredible. And today, it hurt so much to see our city like this,' Surya said.
In an open letter addressed to Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister
DK Shivakumar
and the civic body–BBMP commissioner Tushar Girinath, Surya said the poor state of roads turned the event into an "obstacle race" rather than a world-class experience. He said many participants, including senior citizens and wheelchair athletes, struggled during the run due to the uneven and broken stretches.
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'No stretch was free of potholes. Many runners stumbled, sprained their ankles and some even got injured,' Surya, Bengaluru South MP wrote on X. He added that garbage dumps, broken footpaths, and dusty roads left a poor impression of 'Brand Bengaluru' before international visitors and participants.
The MP added that as custodians of the city's governance, Shivakumar and BBMP commissioner Girinath were directly responsible for the situation and must be held accountable.
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Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who flagged off the event earlier in the day, had said the
TCS
10K was a matter of pride for Greater Bengaluru. 'Events like this are the backbone for making Bengaluru a Greater Bengaluru,' he said, noting that over 35,000 people, including 7,000 elite competitors, had participated.
Earlier this year, in its budget, the
Congress
government had allocated Rs 7,000 crore for upgrading basic
Bengaluru infrastructure
, an increase from Rs 3,000 crore from previous years. The CM has also set aside Rs 1,800 crore for 21 projects under the Brand Bengaluru initiative for 2024-25 and Rs 3,000 crore to address weather-related challenges and enhance the city's drainage and sewage treatment infrastructure.
This is not the first time Bengaluru's infrastructure has made news; prominent Bengalureans, including venture capitalist
Mohandas Pai
and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, have time and again highlighted the dire conditions and questioned the government's failure to deliver on its promise for infrastructure.
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