Bengaluru: Balagere residents fix potholes themselves after repeated ignored pleas

Fed up with broken promises and crumbling infrastructure, IT professionals and residents of Balagere near Gunjur rolled up their sleeves this Independence Day, filling potholes on their own after civic authorities failed to act.

This Independence Day, while Bengaluru celebrated freedom, residents of Balagere near Gunjur and Varthur declared independence of a different kind, freedom from potholes. After years of pleas falling on deaf ears, locals, many of them IT professionals working in Bengaluru’s tech hub, decided to take matters into their own hands.

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With spades, stones, and sheer determination, they filled potholes along a stretch that thousands of commuters use daily. “Enough is enough,” one resident said. “We can’t watch our vehicles break down and our people suffer anymore. If the government won’t fix our roads, we will.”

#ITprofessionals from @NammaBengaluroo#IThub#Gunjur#Varthur#Balagere area filled potholes on their own post #IndependenceDay celebration , repeated requests to @BBMPCOMM@DKShivakumar@MALimbavali@PCMohanMP hv fallen on deaf ears. Infra in this area is broken & no one cares. pic.twitter.com/4vg2l90wxG

— Namma Balagere. (@BalagereConnect) August 16, 2025

This act of citizen defiance is not new to Balagere. Just weeks ago, residents launched the viral #RefundTax campaign, asking BBMP and local leaders to resign and return their tax money, saying they would rather use it to fix their own roads.

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On Independence Day, their symbolic act became a community movement. Commuters stopped their vehicles mid-way to join the effort, showing that frustration with civic neglect is shared across the city.

The message from Balagere is clear: Bengaluru’s citizens are no longer willing to suffer in silence. They demand action, accountability, and infrastructure that matches the city’s global IT hub status.

As residents say—“When intent is right, people will come with you.” Now, it’s up to the authorities to prove they’re listening.

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