Bengaluru is another Gurugram: Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw after Suhel Seth’s viral ‘Gurgaon a shame on India’ remark

Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has drawn stark comparisons between India’s tech hub Bengaluru and Gurugram, slamming successive governments for neglecting basic civic infrastructure in two of the country’s most affluent cities.

Her remarks came in response to a scathing critique of Gurugram posted by columnist and businessman Suhel Seth. Mazumdar-Shaw said in a post on X , “This is the fate of every rich city. Bengaluru is another Gurugram. The state plunders and kills the golden goose with no responsibility to provide basic infrastructure and civic amenities. Building rules are flouted to make money, etc.”

What did Seth say?
Seth at a recent Indian Express event in Delhi described Gurugram as “a shame on this country.” Slamming the state’s urban planning, Seth accused civic authorities of turning the city into an administrative disaster, despite its close proximity to the national capital.


“We create a Venice every year without government help, streets flooded, garbage piling up. It’s the egalitarian spirit of Gurugram,” Seth said with sarcasm. “There are more liquor vends than traffic signals, more bars than schools. You can’t have smart cities with unsmart leaders,” he said, directly targeting Haryana’s leadership and local officials.

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How did people react?
“Completely agree with you. The government had a chance to build a new Bengaluru with lakes, green cover and proper planning. Instead, it’s become a concrete jungle with transport and garbage woes,” one user posted.

Another wrote: “Urban planning is a dead department. There are no proper norms on housing density or open spaces. Bengaluru roads have turned into parking lots on both sides.”

A third user added bitterly: “We’ve been hearing about smart cities for 15-20 years. Forget smart, we don’t even have basic infrastructure in place.”