BENGALURU: Over 600 National Service Scheme (NSS) students and 22 faculty members of Kristu Jayanthi College, along with 100 locals from Kothnur, got together to repair the pothole-filled Hennur Road to Byarathi in Kothnur on Saturday. 

Commuters had been suffering due to the poor condition of the road for more than three years, and in the last 15 days, the condition had become worse. The road was filled with construction debris, accumulated from the various construction units in the area. 

The good samaritans managed to fill up 100 potholes on the busy main road, and ensured the road was garbage and plastic-free too. 

Dr Sreedhar P D, NSS programme officer, head of Hindi department, Kristu Jayanti College, said that last week, a similar drive was conducted. However, the potholes were filled with mud, which washed away in the rain. 

“We have used cement this time, which will only get stronger with the rain pouring,” he said.  

“The students started the work, and locals joined in gradually. The need to repair the road was urgent, and students were the ones suffering the most.

The number of accident cases involving students were on the rise. 

Many students had also dropped out of college because of the bad route. The road is dug open regularly by some government agency or the other, but is never repaired. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has not bothered to fix this road till date,” he said. 

The road is also used by at least 35,000 locals and students every day. 

To showcase the work carried out, over 8,000 students and over a 1,000 locals have signed a campaign which will be submitted to Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun on Monday.

 The road falls under rebel and disqualified MLA Byrati Basavaraj.

While Palike engineers showed indifference to the road being repaired by students, the locals said they should be fined Rs 1,000 per pothole for their negligence.