'Walking in Bengaluru is an extreme sport': Techie shows broken footpaths, video goes viral

A Bengaluru techie has gone viral on social media after sharing a video showcasing the deplorable state of the city's footpaths. The video, which has garnered widespread attention, highlights the dangers and inconvenience faced by pedestrians in the city.

In the video, a software professional in Bengaluru compared walking in the city to an extreme sport after a close call last week. He narrowly avoided falling and getting injured while trying to board a bus at the Konanakunte bus stop near Forum South Mall.

"Walking in Bengaluru is an extreme sport. Need the skill to balance on tiny concrete strips and to jump from footpath to road!" Yogeesh Prabhuswamy Gandige, 41, wrote on X. He posted videos showing broken footpaths, rainwater-filled drains, and debris scattered on both the pavement and the road.

One of the videos showed commuters standing dangerously on rainwater drains while waiting for the bus. Gandige, who was supposed to board the same bus, decided not to take the risk. "I didn’t dare take this bus! One slip could mean a serious injury – that’s how pedestrians are treated in this so-called ‘Infra Era’!" he wrote.

In an interview with Moneycontrol, Yogeesh shared that he regularly uses the Konanakunte bus stop, but the poor condition of the footpath and road often makes him anxious and causes delays.

Several users on X pointed out that the drain structures were part of Bengaluru's smart city rainwater sponge project. Others noted that many footpaths in the city are uneven and can be hazardous.

"Even more shameful for BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) is that these have been built just now, not old crumbling infrastructure," a user wrote. "Even new development is being done in such a shoddy way that there's no hope. And this is the case allover. Whitefield is covered with this wherever they've built these footpaths. And even this took several months to cover just 400 metres"

Another X user, AravBizBuilder, commented, "Walking in Bengaluru feels like an extreme sport with these narrow, uneven footpaths. One wrong step can be disastrous. Whitefield is the worst, with months of construction making things harder for pedestrians."

Mavi echoed the sentiment, adding, "Bengaluru's footpaths are the most irregular. They're often blocked by construction materials, forcing pedestrians onto the road, constantly looking out for speeding vehicles."