Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has responded to Karnataka Congress MLA B Shivanna’s remarks after she raised concerns about the poor condition of roads in Bengaluru’s Anekal area.
“Pls don’t taunt me as a billionaire.
I am speaking on behalf of citizens who don’t have a voice n asked me to raise these issues,” Mazumdar-Shaw said in a post on X.
“We are getting money (from the government), but how much can we get?
When asked why the legislator was dependent on CSR funds and not money from the government, Shivanna told the outlet that these were recurring problems requiring significant allocations. We asphalt roads, and with rain, it gets eroded, and problems resurface,” he reportedly said.
The exchange began after Mazumdar-Shaw criticised the condition of roads in Anekal, a town on the outskirts of Bengaluru that is home to one of the city’s major industrial clusters. Her comments came after residents highlighted the condition of roads in the area.
In a post on X, she had said that the local MLA had been informed about the “neglect” for years but alleged that funds had been used for other purposes that had not benefited citizens. One resident said thousands of cars, school buses and BMTC buses use the stretch every day and warned that its condition was “very dangerous & fatal”. He also reportedly said that he had approached Mazumdar-Shaw multiple times to request CSR funds, but to no avail. “We don’t know where they spend their CSR finds – for lakes, desilting – but will not give us money to help improve road conditions,” he said.
