Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw fumes over gutka stains outside Bengaluru metro, calls for ‘hefty fines’

Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw fumed over the gutka stains outside a Bengaluru metro station, once again pointing out the lack of civic sense in the city.

Shaw had reshared a video from an X user that showed tobacco-stained pavements outside Malleshwaram Metro Station, putting the onus on the auto drivers.

Irked by the visuals, Shaw said, “Filthy habits that must be called out and hefty fines imposed.”

The original post claimed that it was a scene from “outside Malleshwara metro station…done by Karnataka auto Walas standing outside the metro.”

Last month, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw criticised the Bengaluru administration for its poor infrastructure and declining sense of accountability in the city.

She has since consistently posted about her concerns as a citizen and even met with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to discuss an action plan to address key infrastructure bottlenecks in Bengaluru.

Here’s how netizens reacted:

Shaw’s post sparked a widespread debate online, as the Bangaloreans echoed her concerns and vented their frustration about the city’s deteriorating civic sense.

“This isn’t about one metro station, it’s about habits. There are so many Auto Sanghas, yet no effort to educate members about civic hygiene. I’ve seen this countless times, not just near metro stations but across roads. As a regular walker, I’ve had arguments over it, friends often say ‘don’t get into fights’, but that’s how normalized this neglect has become,” a social media user said.

Another added, “We should start to charge pan and Gutka companies for this. They earn and tax payers pay to clean!”

“BMRCL claims area under their stations as its property & no honk zone. Fails to keep it clean, flowing water under Yeshwantpur station, filth around Malleswaram station, Overflowing bins in Soap factory. The filth and Namma Metro seem synonymous. Clean inside, filth outside,” a user noted.

A netizen pointed out that because of regular rains in the city, the citizens hardly see the gutka stains, but now, since it’s been days since the last pour, these stains are everywhere.

“Mostly due to continuous rains we are not able to see gutka stains. Now rain gave little gap. I am able to see gutka stains everywhere including metro station elevators, FOB, roads, footpaths etc. Its high time to ban the sale of gutka. Red rangolis are disgusting on roads,” the netizen said.

A user suggested, “The country needs a ‘No Spitting’ rule – awareness programs, fines. And a guthka ban maybe.”