Bengaluru's Little Mermaid: City artist converts city's potholes into works of art

There are unique ways in which people protest the pothole menace in various cities. In Thane, a suburb on the outskirts of Mumbai, Shiv Sena corporator Pratap Sarnaik – who was then a part of the Sharad Pawa-led NCP – staged a dharna where he was catching fish in one of the city’s many potholes.

Similar protests have been staged in various parts of the country, with some protests more unique than the others. But it is the latest protest from Bengaluru that has grabbed media eyeballs.

Bengaluru-based artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy has turned a pothole near Cubbon Park Junction into an art installation, with a woman dressed as a mermaid protesting the poor condition of roads in the city that have led to fatal accidents.

Baadhal has previously criticized the Bengaluru civic authorities by putting up unique artworks on damaged roads, as these illustrations demonstrate, but it is the latest one that has gone viral on social media.

Four people in Bengaluru have died since the beginning of October allegedly while trying to maneuver around potholes. A woman, 21, was killed on Tuesday after the two-wheeler she was riding pillion on was hit by a truck when the rider swerved to avoid a pothole.

The issue has turned into a political slugfest, with the Opposition BJP blaming the ruling Congress government for the condition of public infrastructure in city that hosts India’s IT industry.