It took a Canadian with a camera to get Bengaluru’s footpaths cleaned.
A video posted by Canadian national Caleb Friesen last week spurred civic action in 24 hours and prompted citizens across the country urging him to highlight neglected areas in Bengaluru, Pune and Gurugram.
Friesen, a Youtuber, uploaded a 30-minute video on Thursday documenting his walk along a 2.4 km stretch of pedestrian paths from Majestic bus stand to a coffee shop.
The clip, which captured what he called the “neglected and poor condition” of pavements, spread online and drew criticism of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) for civic negligence.
On September 11, writing about his experience on X, Friesen described what he had encountered along the way.. tunnel juice, barbed wire, desire paths, pavement pudding, a stairwell into a drain, and said “something I can’t type here.”
He added a warning to viewers...“don’t watch this if you have a weak stomach.”
Friesen later clarified that his intention was not to target Bengaluru. “I’m sure NYC and many American cities have spots that are worse in certain ways than this, e.g. if this were the US there may have been homeless people or addicts in the tunnels,” he said. “I feel safe to explore places here in India. Can’t say I’d feel the same in America (or even Canada).”
He also suggested that civic authorities could use the moment to improve their public outreach.
“City should set up a new department just for fixing stuff like this. Would get a lot of kudos from the public if they created an internal process of identifying, cleaning, and fixing problematic spots,” he wrote. “Would be a massive win with huge visibility. They probably also need a social media expert who can ensure fix-ups get the visibility they deserve. It would be cool if there was a ‘city wishlist’ too...imagine a system where citizens can vote on what they want to see fixed first.”
On September 12, the civic body shared images on X of an “intensive cleaning drive” in and around Majestic.
“Intensive cleaning drive was carried out around Majestic surroundings by the Bengaluru central city corporation team focusing on the footpaths to ensure a clean and safe pedestrian space,” the post read.
Friesen thanked the authorities and even shared his own “before and after” pictures of the same stretch. “Thank you for listening and taking rapid action @GBAoffic no more parkour over barbed wire required by pedestrians,” he wrote.
The clean-up was organised in collaboration with a local NGO and included repairs, painting, and clearing obstructions along the pavements.
Bengaluru Central City Commissioner Rajendra Cholan joined volunteers at the site on Saturday, taking part in the restoration drive and later sitting down for snacks with them as a gesture of support.
According to officials, the spot where Friesen had filmed his video was among those targeted during the effort. He was also invited to return, where he recorded a follow-up clip praising the civic body’s action and noting the visible improvement for pedestrians.
For many Bengaluru residents, the Canadian vlogger’s intervention felt like a wake-up call.
“Kudos for documenting this. Having stayed in Bengaluru for over 6 years, I too had accepted such issues on our footpaths as ‘normal.’ But this thread is an eye-opener — from today, I’ll also make it a point to highlight such concerns to the responsible authorities,” one X user wrote.
Others responded with humour. “As a fellow Bengalurean, I admire your courage to walk on Bengaluru’s roads. You never know when a BMTC bus driver might hit you from behind,” another said.
The impact of the clip also reached beyond Bengaluru.
“When can you come to Gurugram? We need you badly, to be heard,” one user commented. Another added bluntly...“I think Indian municipal government authorities have come to a point where shaming them publicly, that too by a foreigner, is the only way to get walkable pavements.”
