A surprise inspection of civic services in Bengaluru has led Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda to warn that pourakarmikas who remain absent for prolonged periods could face dismissal, while directing officials to address waste, road, drainage and lake-management problems across several neighbourhoods.
Bengaluru | September 6, 2026
Gowda conducted the early-morning inspection on Saturday across Horamavu, Banjara Layout, Agara Lake, Ramamurthy Nagar and Kasturinagar. He reviewed door-to-door garbage collection, lake and drain maintenance, footpaths, potholes and ongoing railway and metro works, according to a report by Deccan Herald.
The inspection found that around 30% of pourakarmikas were not reporting for duty. The minister was responding to demands from pourakarmikas seeking regularisation when he questioned whether workers who did not attend work could be made permanent.
“How can we make those who don’t come to work permanent?” Gowda said, stressing that regularisation could not come at the cost of accountability. He warned that workers absent for prolonged periods could face dismissal from service.
The minister also instructed officials to ensure daily waste collection and remove construction debris and footpath encroachments. Officials were directed to repair potholes and road cuts and to regularly desilt stormwater drains in the areas covered by the inspection.
At Agara Lake, Gowda ordered the immediate removal of accumulated waste and action against encroachments. He also directed officials to relocate Bescom transformers outside the lake premises. The report did not specify a deadline for completing the cleanup, removing the encroachments or shifting the transformers.
The inspection covered civic conditions alongside infrastructure works, including ongoing railway and metro projects. The minister’s directions therefore addressed both routine municipal services and the management of public assets and utility installations in and around the inspected areas.
Gowda’s warning places attendance and service delivery at the centre of the regularisation issue involving pourakarmikas. His directions on waste collection, lake maintenance, roads, footpaths and stormwater drains also assign officials a broader set of immediate civic-service tasks across the inspected neighbourhoods.
The next steps announced during the inspection are daily waste collection, removal of accumulated waste and construction debris, action on encroachments, repair of potholes and road cuts, regular stormwater-drain desilting, and relocation of Bescom transformers from the Agara Lake premises.
