'If this is the best India has...': Bengaluru’s brutal Reddit takedown spares no city

Bengaluru’s decline isn’t sudden — it’s been steady, visible, and strangely tolerated. “Bengaluru is a disaster, but it’s still the best India has to offer,” says one Reddit user. 

“Traffic can give you PTSD, basic infrastructure is a myth, cost of living is ridiculous, public transport is barely functional, power cuts happen in the so-called tech capital.”

In comparison, the user says: “Delhi? Enjoy the pollution and street crime. Mumbai? Pay 50k to live in a shoebox next to an open gutter. Chennai? Melting-hot summers and auto drivers who charge foreigner rates. Hyderabad? Wannabe BLR, but somehow even worse traffic. Kolkata? Stuck in the 1980s.”

The final line drives it home: “It’s like asking: Which sinking ship would you rather be on? Bengaluru might be sinking slower, but that’s hardly an achievement.”

The frustration doesn’t end there. “Actually we need to find solutions for these issues, but considering current government, people’s attitude, politics, judiciary—I don’t think we can fix any of these issues,” another user writes.

Even when solutions exist, implementation is seen as impossible. “Only solution is to go native and settle there, but you can’t get a job there. Average salaries even in cities like Hubli-Dharwad don’t go above 18k. Which is just bare minimum to survive. Only permanent solution is to get out of this country.”

Another Redditor added context, pointing to governance gaps: “We grew before we could accommodate growth. All the problems in Bengaluru can be traced to an utter lack of coordination between the various agencies that provide basic needs.”

The user cites BMTC as a case in point. “BMTC does not own its own bus stops, it can not decide its own bus stop locations, it relies on private operators to run electric buses and their drivers, it relies on traffic police to enforce bus lanes, they depend on the state government to buy buses and fix fares.”

“Stakeholders look out for their own interests,” they note, “thus hindering BMTC’s ability to deliver good services.”