Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai tore into Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s new plan to overhaul Bengaluru’s civic infrastructure, warning that cosmetic upgrades won’t fix years of neglect. In a sharp post on X (formerly Twitter), Pai accused Shivakumar of repeated failure and demanded immediate on-ground fixes as monsoon sets in.
“Pl do not fail us as you have failed us over last 2 years. Unless maintenance is immediately improved city will not improve,” he posted.
Listing urgent priorities for the government, Pai wrote, “Minister @DKShivakumar all this will not improve the city. Pl have a massive clean-up removing debris, garbage, muck for roads and footpaths. Clean up drain mouths, drains to allow rainwater to pass. Repair footpaths to make city a walking city. Improve mouths of 12 High traffic corridors to make traffic faster. Stop making police manually manage traffic on roads. Repair ORR on war footing to make it a world class road.”
The tech entrepreneur didn’t stop there. “Minister again you are failing us. Pl walk around the city, not go in a Bus to understand actual road conditions for citizens. Pl focus on maintenance and repair for next 60 days. We are in monsoon season.”
Pai’s comments came in response to Shivakumar’s detailed infrastructure agenda shared on social media.
According to the Deputy CM, key focus areas include flood management, parking reform, vendor regulation, and digitisation of property records. “Immediate action is being taken to address flood-prone areas… A compensation of ₹10,000 will be provided to families affected by recent flooding,” Shivakumar wrote.
Other measures include:
- Mandating stilt parking instead of basement parking for safety.
- Managing 27,665 registered footpath vendors through designated zones and standardised vending carts.
- Digitising 25 lakh khatas, with 5 lakh already converted to e-khatas.
- Offering Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) for road widening based on MLA recommendations.
- Merging Metro service roads with main roads to ease traffic.
- Trimming hazardous tree branches and removing illegal optical fibre cables.
- Strict vehicle towing from No Parking zones and relocating the Skydeck project to Kempe Gowda Layout.
“We will continue our consultations with all concerned legislators and work towards building a Better Bengaluru for all,” Shivakumar added.
Heavy downpour has thrown normal life out of gear in Bengaluru during recent rainfall. People were seen walking through knee-deep water, and massive traffic snarls were reported across the metropolis. The death toll due to rains went up to 5 in the state, as per officials.
Whenever clouds appear, residents of Bengaluru prepare themselves for disruptions such as traffic congestion, flooding, fallen trees, submerged vehicles, power failures, and even structural collapses. Rescue boats are a frequent sight in low-lying areas.
