Bengaluru: A pothole on the Panathur–Balagere Road in Bengaluru has gone viral after an X user shared an image showing it remarkably resembles the map of India. The quirky resemblance triggered a wave of humour, satire, and patriotic banter online, even as locals pointed out the dangerous state of the city’s roads.
Viral moment
The post, captioned “#Bengaluru Can you guess the shape of the pothole?” by user @pavitraholla, quickly attracted widespread attention.
- One user quipped, “More than the shape, it tells the fate of the common man.”
- Another joked, “It’s not a pothole. It’s a rainwater harvesting technique patented by ‘Guarantee’ Sarakara.”
- Some dubbed it a “Nationalist pothole!”, while others playfully wrote, “Undivided India, Bangalore shows the way.”
A few users also asked sarcastically whether repairing the pothole would now be considered “unpatriotic.”
Close call for schoolchildren
Amid the online banter, the incident highlighted a more serious issue. On Friday, a school bus carrying around 20 children narrowly avoided toppling after getting stuck in a large, slushy crater on the same stretch of Panathur–Balagere Road.
Videos and images of the stranded bus circulated widely, showing children being evacuated safely through the back door. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.
A concerned resident wrote on social media, “A school bus carrying around 20 kids almost toppled on the crater-filled, slushy Panathur–Balagere road. Children had to be rescued through the back door. Ironically, CM & DyCM had visited and inspected this very stretch just a few months ago.”
Residents’ anger
The incident has reignited anger among citizens, who have repeatedly raised concerns over the poor condition of Bengaluru’s roads. Many pointed to the irony that despite prior inspections by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, the road continues to remain unsafe.