This astronaut walking on moonscape is not what you think it is [Video]

16th July 1969 was marked as a historic date in the history of mankind. This was the day when human beings landed on the surface of the Earth’s moon for the first time ever. On the occasion, astronaut Neil Armstrong was quoted saying “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. In the video below, one can see a similar terrain, though it appears to be Martian surface, with an astronaut walking over it. However, as you might already know, this is not what it appears to be. Before we indulge upon it further, we suggest you watch the video to get a better hold of the picture… and some laughs too

As you might have already realized by now, this is a hilarious take on the road conditions of Bengaluru where crater-sized potholes have made the life of locals tough. Baadal Nanjundaswamy, an artist based in the city thought of this unique idea to bring the authority’s attention to this issue. His unique take on the issue, however, gave him country-wide fame as people all around India found themselves facing similar situations each day. In the video, we see a person dressed in a full-blown Astronaut getup walking over the pothole-riddled roads in a comic, anti-gravity style. The man behind this quirky yet hilarious video, Baadal Nanjundaswamy, has been in news on multiple occasions previously too for raising his voice against faulty infrastructure and policies through art.

Baadal’s creativity didn’t go in vain though as the authorities took note of the same and the potholes on these roads were filled the other day. Baadal Twitted a video expressing his gratitude towards the authorities. The video also shows excavators on work to pave the road.

Thank you people for such a overwhelming response and support! ♥️♥️♥️🙏🙏

Work in progress.. Quick and prompt response from @BBMP. Thank you very much @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR and Mr. Prabhakar, CE RR Nagar who is overlooking on ground currently. pic.twitter.com/clgoLAIKzU

— baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) September 3, 2019

Talking about the astronaut video, initial camera angle made the scene seem so real that for a second, it had us believing that the Indian government probably sent a man secretly in the Mangalyaan orbiter. As the camera pans towards the side, we see an autorickshaw passing over the road along with a few other cars in the distance. The way of presentation for sure is unique and has brought the issue to the limelight. To let you know, this scene if of the Tunga Nagar Main Road in Bengaluru which is infamous for the enormous potholes which have made commute practically impossible in the area.

Unlike the notion that developed cities or metro cities must have a robust and well-maintained road infrastructure system, the condition is actually quite the opposite. While the road network is quite well-spread, the same can’t be said about the condition of these roads as they are nothing to write home about. Huge potholes, irregularly made speed breakers, raised manhole lids, and other such irregular features are a common sight on roads across India.

There have been regular instances of accidents and fatalities due to potholes in the country. Two-wheelers are especially at risk due to such pothole-ridden roads. High-speed crashes involving even cars are common due to broken roads as a vehicle can go completely off-balance if its tire hit a pothole at the wrong angle when going at high speeds. Often, it is the fault of builders who put people’s life at stake for their own personal benefits.

In the recently amended Motor Vehicle Act, the government has made provisions to penalise road contractors for failing to maintain standards pertaining to road design. This means that the builders can be held accountable for the poor quality of infrastructure used while building roads. While the condition of National highways has been improving of late, we hope the same can be said for the local road infrastructure too in the coming future.