Bengaluru, 19 Sept

Online trucking platform BlackBuck’s co-founder & CEO Rajesh Yabaji clarified that the company is only relocating within Bengaluru, and not leaving.  In a X post on 18 Sept Yabaji said that Bengaluru is the company’s “home” and the that firm will expand its footprint in the City.

The clarification comes after Yabaji’s 16 Sept post, where he said that the company had decided to move out of its current location at Bellandur on Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing commuting and road infrastructure issue. The post triggered a controversy with Opposition parties targeting the ruling Congress over the City’s consistent infrastructure woes.

Similarly, former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw had urged the State government to immediately intervene. Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh had also invited BlackBuck to relocate its operations to Visakhapatnam.

“We unilaterally refute the claims made by some media outlets that we are considering moving out of the City. We are only relocating within the City to a different location, which will facilitate an easy commute for our employees,” Yabaji clarified.

“The ORR, the City, and the State have enabled the company with the needed resources, infrastructure, talent density and opportunities to grow into a large company,” he said. “We will not only continue to remain in the City, but will also expand our footprint here.”

Earlier, the media had pressed Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru portfolio on the matter. He said the government was not scared of “threats or blackmail”.

“I don't know how many potholes may have increased (following heavy rains). But we want permanent solutions," he said on Thursday. He said the government will have a plan ready by Saturday.