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Journalism of Courage
Bengaluru’s crumbling infrastructure is once again in the spotlight after a viral video showed commuters struggling to navigate a key stretch of road swallowed by floodwater. With school buses reportedly half-sinking into potholes and office-goers stranded, anger over the city’s civic upkeep is spilling online.
One clip that has captured attention features content creator Lakshman Goswami helping a Rapido passenger stuck on the waterlogged Marathahalli–Kadubeesanahalli Road, a corridor used daily by thousands of tech professionals. Goswami originally posted the video on Instagram, and it quickly spread to X.
In the footage, Goswami rides up to find vehicles stalled in muddy water. A Rapido driver and his passenger are seen debating whether to continue. The woman is heard asking the driver to cancel the trip, saying she would rather walk.
“How will you walk along this path?” Goswami asks. When she replies, “I have to,” he offers, “Let me help you at least cross this road, so that you can walk the rest of the distance.”
Moments later, he ferries her across on his bike. Joking mid-way, he remarks, “It’s like a submarine,” and after dropping her safely on the other side, says, “Give me five-star ratings, ma’am.”
The light-hearted rescue has struck a chord online, clocking over 2.3 million views. Karnataka Portfolio, an X account that reshared the clip, called the road a “submarine road” and criticised the lack of proper surfacing. “This isn’t some remote village track… only an uneven mud track filled with potholes and dirty water,” the post said, highlighting what it called a “collapse of civic duty.”
The viral video has prompted a flood of comments from frustrated residents who say the clip perfectly sums up the daily struggle of navigating Bengaluru’s broken roads. A user wrote, “Seems like I’ve been paying taxes for roller coasters instead of the road.” Another user asked, “We are fined for various offences… but it’s okay to swim through these unsafe roads of Bangalore, who is getting fined for bad roads ? No one ?”
A third person commented, “I don’t understand how did we get so much patient and used to getting robbed! We pay tax in form of TDS and yet decided to stay quiet without asking for basic necessities!!”
