When Benedict Jebkumar, 44, systems engineer at Intuit Technology Services first came to Bengaluru in 2012 he noted that his bike suffered repeated punctures along Outer Ring Road near Silk Board.
While initially he thought the problem was with his tyres, closer inspection revealed that the result was a hoard of nails strewn across the road in a strategic manner.
He dug deeper and found out that these nails were not there on the road by accident but purposely thrown to cause punctures. All these nails were of same type. Coincidence apart, the nails were always found close to puncture repair shops.
When punctures continued to bog Benedict, he decided to take action. He would stop on his way to and from work each day and pick up these nails. While initially he used his bare hands, quantity of nails and frequency at which they were found left Benedict with no option but to invest in a foldable magnet.
Leaving home at 7 am each day, Benedict makes regular stops along the way to pick up nails. He does the same service on his way back from work. A Facebook page – ‘My Road, My Responsibility’ documents his daily quota of nails picked up while he also uploads photos revealing the total weight of the nails on a particular day. On March 21 for instance he collected 1,654 nails off the road and to date has collected a total of 37 kgs of nails.
He has drawn attention of authorities to this menace and while they turn a blind eye and no action has been taken, Benedict continues his nail collection drive to save other drivers from the inconvenience of punctured tyres or walkers from injuries. No CCTVs on location has made arrests difficult but he is of the hope that one day some permanent solution to this menace will be found.
Via – TOI
