Artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy shared a video of repair works in progress at the area, thanking social media users for their support. Photo: Twitter/baadalvirusResponding to the viral video of a man dressed as an astronaut walking on the potholed roads of Herohalli in the city, Bangalore’s civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), has repaired roads in the area.
According to BBMP officials, the chief engineer in charge of the area was directed to fill up the potholes highlighted in the video by Tuesday afternoon. “The work was done under the supervision of RR Nagar chief engineer S Prabhakar and was completed within the deadline provided by BBMP. The potholes on Tunganagar main road have been filled now,” an official from the BBMP told Indianexpress.com.
Baadal Nanjundaswamy, a famous street artist in the city, had drawn the attention of civic bodies to the problem of potholes after a video posted by him on social media went viral on Sunday.
Hello bbmp?? @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR @bbm #thelatest #streetart #nammabengaluru #herohalli pic.twitter.com/hsizngTpRH
— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) September 2, 2019
The artist made popular theatre actor and film star, Poornachandra Mysore, walk down the street in a silver spacesuit he had designed.
Expressing his delight at the BBMP’s prompt response, the artist on Tuesday shared a video of repair works in progress at the area, thanking social media users for their support.
Thank you people for such a overwhelming response and support! ??????????
Work in progress.. Quick and prompt response from @BBMP. Thank you very much @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR and Mr. Prabhakar, CE RR Nagar who is overlooking on ground currently. pic.twitter.com/clgoLAIKzU
— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) September 3, 2019
‘Astronaut’ gets invitation from India, abroad to highlight civic issues
Responding to Nanjundaswamy’s tweet of the municipality carrying out repairs, several social media users invited him to their respective cities to help highlight civic issues.
Requests came from different parts of Karnataka, cities like Delhi, Kochi and Hyderabad, and some even from the United States.
Congratulations. Ur moon walk is very much required in our smart city (mangalore). Though I doubt mangalore officials being this active @vedavyasbjp @nalinkateel @CMofKarnataka pic.twitter.com/2B7vcNtuNL
— Nayan Mulki (@Porludagant) September 3, 2019
Are we sure these aren’t Louisiana roads https://t.co/YiRPiuqoQh
— Emily Morris (@empremor) September 3, 2019
Pls come to Cochin, Kerala !!! You can space walk on bigger crater’s than this …
— Vishnu Kumar (@VishnuK08704726) September 3, 2019
This is not the first time Nanjundaswamy has caught people’s attention. In 2015, he planted a life-size crocodile in a 12-feet-long pothole on the Sulthanpalya Main Road in North Bangalore, which garnered praised from all, including Anand Mahindra, and resulted in officials fixing the potholes.
In 2017, he turned a big crater on a road into a pool and collaborated with another artist who dressed as a mermaid and sat in it.