Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Flags Poor Condition Of Bengaluru’s Hosur Road Stretch; NHAI Responds

The article reports on NHAI's response to safety concerns raised by Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw regarding a busy highway stretch. It covers maintenance actions, planned overpasses, traffic volumes, and public feedback, highlighting ongoing efforts to improve safety amid rapid urban growth.

Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has slallmed the condition of a busy National Highways Authority of India stretch, calling it unsafe for daily users, while NHAI has defended its record and listed steps taken to manage fast-growing traffic.

Shaw flagged the issue on social media, saying the highway design and upkeep worry regular commuters. She described poor-quality median structures, barricades and unfinished shoulders, and urged the Union government to step in, especially as the route serves major industrial and residential hubs.

NHAI response, traffic pressure and maintenance plans

In the original post, Shaw said the “medians and barricades are terrible and the shoulders are not asphalted." Tagging Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Shaw added that repeated complaints over several years brought no clear action, and asked, "Is this what NHAI considers its proud track record?"

NHAI replied to Shaw the same day, stressing that the corridor carries massive daily traffic and lies within several fast-urbanising local bodies. The authority said this combination creates complex operational demands but also underlined that maintenance and strengthening work has been done on schedule.

NHAI response, safety works and public feedback

NHAI wrote: "NHAI informs that this stretch, planned in 2005 and completed in 2010, has since seen rapid urban & industrial growth and now falls under multiple authorities, including GBA and municipalities like Hebbagodi, Chandapura & Attibele. Currently, the stretch handles very high traffic volumes, with over 1 lakh daily commuters, adding to operational and maintenance challenges," NHAI's comment read.

The authority further stated that routine repairs are handled by the concessionaire, and that renewal, including overlay work, finished in April 2025. "The carriageway is presently in good condition and free from potholes. To ease congestion & eliminate blackspots, NHAI has proposed 4 Vehicular Overpasses (VOPs), including at Veerasandra (Biocon). Work is ongoing at 3 locations," they added.

Shaw’s post attracted many responses from commuters, engineers and citizens. One user wrote, "Media has reported many times over the years on poor quality construction, attenuated by lack of drainage of stormwater, incomplete drains leading nowhere, inadequate cross drainage, poor slope protection etc. Its not only lack of management or political oversight but is also poor design & implementation by Engineers, Govt & Consultants," while another commented, "Great Job Madam. If common people make noise they will not consider it seriously and we are hopeless right now," reflecting concerns but also hope that public interventions will keep national highways safer, including in rapidly growing states like Uttar Pradesh.