Pothole issue is there across country, govt is fixing it in Bengaluru: Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the pothole issue is there across the country, including the national capital New Delhi, and projecting in the media as if the issue is there only in Karnataka is not right.
Shivakumar, who is also the minister in charge of Bengaluru development said that the government has the duty and the responsibility to fix the issue, and it is working on it.
He also hit out at the opposition BJP for not maintaining the roads while in power and raising the issue now, keeping civic body polls in mind.
His comments came in the backdrop of industry veterans in Bengaluru like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw recently urging the state government to immediately intervene, after online trucking platform BlackBuck decided to move the company out of its current location at Bellandur on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing commuting and road infrastructure issues.
Karnataka BJP has also decided to stage a road blockade protest on September 24 in all 224 Assembly constituencies on the issue of the condition of the roads across the state, especially in Bengaluru.
"We are filling potholes, despite rain, we are doing it. Work is on daily to fill about a thousand potholes in each corporation (5 corporations in Bengaluru)," Shivakumar told reporters here, before leaving for Bihar.
Stating that he had been to Delhi and had seen the roads there, he said, "Please ask your reporters there (in Delhi) as to how many potholes are there? How many are there in the road that leads to the Prime Minister's residence?"
"I want to tell big IT companies and others that such things (pothole issue) are everywhere, we are doing our job. It is there across the country, but we have a duty, we will do it," he said.
Projecting as if such things are there only in Karnataka is not right, the Deputy CM said, as he asked, "If roads were maintained during the BJP government, why such a situation would have arisen now?"
"They (BJP) did not do it. Elections (corporation polls) are approaching, so they are doing it. Let it be, we will do our duty," he added.
Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be going to Bihar to participate in the Congress Working Committee meeting in Patna on September 24.
"We have our Congress Working Committee Meeting in Bihar tomorrow, CM is leaving today evening. There is also an extended working committee meeting under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, and we will be attending it," Shivakumar said.
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Patna-bound IndiGo flight makes emergency landing at Lucknow due to bad weather
Lucknow (PTI): Adverse weather forced an IndiGo Kolkata-Patna flight to make an emergency landing at Lucknow airport on Friday, airport sources said.
According to airport officials, weather conditions in Patna deteriorated suddenly on Friday afternoon, affecting flight operations.
IndiGo flight 6E 6917 from Kolkata, which was scheduled to land in Patna at 3.50 pm, could not land due to bad weather and kept circling in the air after failing to get clearance from air traffic control, they said.
The flight was later diverted to Lucknow and landed safely at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at around 5.15 pm. There were 180 passengers and six crew members on board, officials said.
The aircraft was later allowed to depart for Patna after weather conditions improved.
