Yamini C S | Edited by Chandrashekar Srinivasan
Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Friday joined the social media debate on the poor condition of many of Bengaluru’s roads.
Mazumdar-Shaw tagged union roadways minister Nitin Gadkari, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Electronics City Industrial Township Authority and wrote: “Nitin Gadkari sir, NHAI is not doing a great job of (maintaining) Hosur Road. The median is shoddy… no one seems to care.”
“We need world-class national highways like you have created in many parts of our country. For some reason it’s not happening in the Bengaluru area…”
READ | ‘Need to go beyond knee-jerk quick fixes…’: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on encroachment issues in Bengaluru
That triggered a fresh discussion on the condition of city roads, with many agreeing with her. Mazumdar-Shaw has been an active participant in the Invest Karnataka 2022 event – the Global Investors Meet (GIM), having been part of a discussion on gender equity at Palace Grounds.
READ | ‘Frustrated and angry’: Kiran Mazumdar joins online rant on Bengaluru potholes
She also quoted prime minister Narendra Modi’s inaugural speech at the event and called for more investment in the state, tweeting: “When we speak about talent & technology, the 1st name that comes to mind is ‘Brand Bengaluru’,” @narendramodi. I second the PM & invite investors to #Bangalore which has the best entrepreneurial ecosystem & financial environment to start & grow a business.”
“What about the infrastructure, that’s already choking with no solution in sight,” a user replied, to which she responded, “Infra does not match talent.”
Shaw has been part of a number of online discussions related to Bengaluru and its infrastructure in the past, having suggested American Road Patch, a patented technology, to repair the city’s roads, and questioning why BBMP and BDA officials are not punished for permitting encroachments that led to severe waterlogging in the city amid rain.