The members of ‘Citizens Movement, Bengaluru’ group at work to fill potholes in Bengaluru. Photo: Group's X (Twitter) account
Bengaluru techie takes Rs 2.7 lakh loan to fix potholes, launches ‘boycott tax’ campaign
Arif Mudgal said he decided to take a loan and fill potholes as he was upset after seeing two accidents on Hosa Road.
A Bengaluru man has taken a loan of over Rs 2 lakh to fix potholes on the city’s roads, and has also launched a campaign ‘NoDevelopmentNoTax’ on social media.
According to a group named ‘Citizens Movement, Bengaluru’, software engineer Arif Mudgal took a loan of Rs 2.74 lakh to fill potholes in Halanayakanahalli, Muneshwara Layout, and Choodasandra.
Mudgal is one of the founder members of the group, that was started five years ago.
“Due to apathy from @MALimbavali (local BJP MLA Manjula Aravind Limbavali) & Halanayakanahalli Panchayat (they cry for funds)! The @east_bengaluru repaired potholes on their own. One of our members @arif2299 paid ₹2,74000 from his pocket! Sir this is not why we voted for you!” the group wrote on its X (Twitter) page on Sunday (August 20).
The group also tagged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and ‘Officer on Special Duty’ to the CM, in the post.
In another tweet, it said, “Arif Mudgal paid from his pocket and took a loan for the same! Who will pay his EMI? He is a salaried middle-class citizen with lots of liabilities. Just a love for Bengaluru won’t feed his family.”
The group shared a screenshot of monthly installments of Rs 12,375 which Mudgal has to pay for his loan amount.
On Sunday, the group started a tax boycott campaign with the hashtag ‘#NoDevelopmentNoTax’.
“#NoDevelopmentNoTax We officially start our tax boycott campaign from today. Please use above hashtag. We want to make it Bengaluru wide movement,” it posted.
Mudgal said he decided to take a loan and fill potholes as he was upset after seeing two accidents on Hosa Road.
“A woman staying near my apartment sustained injuries when the auto she was travelling in toppled after it hit a pothole on Hosa Road,” Mudgal was quoted as saying in Times of India.
“A delivery agent with an e-commerce firm was also injured when he tried to avoid the same pothole on the night of August 14. He collided head-on with a car and suffered a fractured leg. I later learnt he is from Mandya and the sole earner of his nine-member family. I was so upset,” he added.
“Other members of the group also contributed money and we fixed some potholes. But we ran out of funds, so I took a loan,” the 32-year-old said.
