Canadian vlogger's video prompts civic authorities in Bengaluru to clean up neglected pavements
Bengaluru(PTI): A viral video recorded by a Canadian vlogger, highlighting the "neglected and poor condition" of pavements in the city, has prompted a swift response from the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), which joined a cleaning drive organised by an NGO.
In the 30-minute video shot on Thursday, Youtuber Caleb Friesen documented the difficulty in walking a 2.4 km stretch on Bengaluru's pedestrian paths, from Majestic bus stand to a coffee shop, capturing its alleged poor and neglected condition.
The clip drew widespread public criticism against the civic authorities for the alleged negligence.
In the aftermath of the viral clip, the civic authorities, GBA jumped into swift action to repair the stretch.
Along with private volunteers, they organised a footpath-cleaning drive. To show support and motivate the team, Bengaluru Central City Commissioner Rajendra Cholan joined the volunteers on Saturday and shared snacks with them after the restoration work.
On September 12, the Greater Bengaluru Authority took to 'X', sharing pictures of intensive cleaning drive in and around Majestic surroundings.
"Intensive cleaning drive was carried out around Majestic surroundings by Bengaluru central city corporation team focusing on the footpaths to ensure a clean and safe pedestrian space," it said in a post on 'X'.
Responding to the post, Friesen thanked the authorities for taking rapid action and shared the before and after pictures of the same footpath he had shot earlier.
"Thank you for listening and taking rapid action @GBAoffic no more parkour over barbed wire required by pedestrians," he added.
According to official sources, at the very spot where the foreign national had shot the video, allegedly complaining about the poor state of footpaths, after participating in the cleaning and painting drive organised by an NGO on Saturday, Bengaluru Central City Commissioner, Cholan sat down and had snacks with the volunteers who helped restore the footpath and motivated the team.
The Canadian man who highlighted the state of the footpath was also invited to the spot, where he recorded another clip praising the authorities for the swift action in undertaking the initiative to clean and clear the footpath, making it feasible for pedestrians to use.
walking 2.4 km of Bengaluru footpaths showed me:
— Caleb (@caleb_friesen2) September 11, 2025
- tunnel juice
- barbed wire
- desire paths
- bushwhacking
- pavement pudding
- a stairwell into a drain
- something I can't type here
don't watch this if you have a weak stomach pic.twitter.com/vxijXd021g
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
