10 Times People Took The Matter In Their Own Hands & Filled Potholes Creatively To Make A Point
Over 10,000 people have succumbed to death in 2016 alone and we¡¯re beginning to lose count of how many we have lost in the running year.
Earlier this month, RJ Malishka made a video called ¡®Mumbai, don¡¯t you trust BMC¡¯ and faced severe lashing from the government for it. In her video which was widely criticised by the civic authorities, she questioned about the poor quality of roads in Mumbai.
Her comments were backed by Faye D'Souza, a news presenter at Mirror Now, who said ¡®have you no shame?¡¯ after a lawsuit along with a case of defamation was slapped on the RJ.
indianexpress
The growing concerns about the quality of roads are maddening. Earlier this week, a Mumbai biker was crushed to death in her pursuit to avoid a pothole. Jagruti Viraj Hogale was part of the women-only bikers' club, "The Bikerni" and died during her weekend trip. But she¡¯s not the first one.
In a bid to protest, remind the government of their duties, fight their own battles, and come up with creative solutions, individuals and artist in the past have done some incredibly creative things to cover these potholes. While some went above and beyond their routine call, other inculcated ideas that were refreshingly tasteful. Check them out:
1. Bangalore artist who made crocodile pool out of potholes
36-year-old Baadal Nanjundaswamy became famous across the country for turning gigantic potholes into crocodile pools. The artist not only drew the attention of authorities towards this 12-feet long hole in the middle of the city but also created awareness about the subject.
2. Hyderabad man who filled 1,000 potholes using his pension money
oneindia
Gangadhar Tilak Katnam was going about his day in Hyderabad when an epiphany struck him about several incidences caused by potholes. So he began filling potholes in the January 2010 as a weekend ritual, but before he knew, it became a passion. Within a year he quit his corporate job to take up pothole filling as a full-time profession and has filled 1125 potholes so far in Hyderabad using his own money.
3. Mumbai man who¡¯s saving others after his son died
timesofindia
Dadabhai Bilhore of Andheri in Mumbai has taken this job of filling potholes solely because his own son died in an accident, and he couldn¡¯t stand other capitulating to it. Bilhore is now filling all the potholes he sees, basically, every single one of them.
4. 12-year-old who¡¯s filling potholes using gravel and stones
ANI
Son of a construction worker, Ravi Teja saw a family of three died because of severe injuries on one such road while avoiding a pothole. So unlike how everyone rants after seeing an accident, Ravi actually took matters in his own hand and started filling these holes with gravel and stones from the construction site.
5. Artist who filled holes with popcorn and beer
kulturawplot
Is there a better way to drag the attention of authorities by filling holes with popcorn, beer, champagne, and Barbie? Well, I don¡¯t think so. An arts group on Scranton, Pennsylvania, turned this loathed hole into art. "We love to hate potholes,¡± said Valerie Kiser, co-founder of The Pop Up Studio.
6. The ¡®Pothole¡¯ guy
Jim Bachor got so famous with his tryst with potholes that he became the pothole guy. "I put two and two together and realised I had my passion for a really durable art form, mosaics and this pothole outside my house so why not merge the two?¡± Since then, he has been creating potholes here and there and making the Chicago more creative than ever.
7. Graffiti artist who made dicks around potholes
grist
E in rebel stands for enthusiasm, and we learnt that from Wanksy. Hailing from England, Wanksy is just one of us, only livider over the issue. He began painting dicks around potholes after a friend of his got hurt on them.
8. Artist who filled potholes with food
grist
For photographer Davide Luciano, city potholes only mean large food bowls, because that¡¯s exactly what he¡¯s been doing. City authorities can be obstinate, and it may take more than just usual tactics to draw their attention. Having realised that, Davide placed his food in these holes to bring awareness to the issue with a punch of creativity.
9. When people planted trees in potholes
express
Not just one, but planting trees in holes was being practised across many cities in the world. Tired of complaining, people simply took to the streets and began planting. From flowers to banana tree, everything was done to build awareness by these people who called themselves guerrilla gardeners
10. When people filled confetti in them
The list of things that landed in these holes that took a toll on everyone¡¯s life is countless. Coloured confetti, metal cases and everything else that could draw the attention of those who were supposed to fix it. This is when folks in New Orleans decided to take the matter into their own hands.
