Former City Commissioner of Police Bhaskar Rao and several other leaders and workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were detained by the Bengaluru City Police on Saturday after they protested against increasing potholes in the city.
The protesters were detained after they tried entering the Vidhana Soudha. Speaking to DH, Bhaskar Rao said that thousands of potholes across the city are causing inconvenience and posing threat to people. "We have filed 71 complaints in various police stations across the city. Yet no action has been taken and the potholes continue to pose a threat. There is no fund crunch to take up such activities, but it is the lack of political will," Rao said.
AAP Karnataka convener Prithvi Reddy said that they had to resort to protests since the government failed to ensure safe roads for citizens. "From pothole pua to drawing rangoli around the potholes, we have made every attempt to grab the attention of the government towards the issue. As a last resort, we staged protests," Reddy said.
In a letter addressed to the chief minister, AAP has demanded that strict action should be taken against BBMP engineers and contractors responsible for poor quality roads. That apart, they also demanded that a Rs 25 lakh compensation should be provided to all the victims of pothole-related accidents and that all the potholes in the city should be filled within a week.