Water shortages, traffic aggravate India's Bengaluru as it votes

26/4/2024 14:23

        Dire water shortages, flooding, gridlocked roads and poor civic facilities have become major issues in Bengaluru city, residents in India's tech hub said as they voted on Friday in a general election that is otherwise focused on jobs, inflation and Hindu nationalism.
        
        The southern city of about 14 million people, capital of Karnataka state and often called "India's Silicon Valley", voted in the summer heat in the second phase of the world's largest election, set to go on until June 1.
        
        Bengaluru is home to thousands of startups and global firms from Walmart to Alphabet's Google and is showcased as a symbol of an ambitious, rising India. But unplanned growth and creaking infrastructure is blotting the booming city.
        
        The city's problems have featured prominently in the campaign, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and the main opposition Congress - which governs Karnataka state - are pitted against each other.