Bengaluru is home, BlackBuck is only relocating within city, says Co-Founder & CEO

Bengaluru, Sep 18 (PTI) Online trucking platform BlackBuck's Co-Founder & CEO Rajesh Yabaji on Thursday clarified that the company was only relocating within the city to a different location, as he asserted that Bengaluru is home, and the firm will expand its footprint here.

Yabaji on Tuesday said that the company has decided to move out of its current location at Bellandur on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing commuting and road infrastructure issues.

His statement had led to a large-scale debate and criticism against the administration, regarding Bengaluru's infrastructure woes, with industry veterans in the city like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw urging the state government to immediately intervene.

"BlackBuck started its operations in the year 2015 from Bengaluru, beginning from a small office near the Sony Signal at Koramangala. As we expanded our operations and teams, we moved to the Bellandur Outer Ring Road (ORR) in 2016 for larger office spaces and better suited facilities," Yabaji posted on 'X'.

He said, "The ORR, the city of Bengaluru and the state of Karnataka has enabled the company with the needed resources, infrastructure, talent density and opportunities to grow into a large company, making a meaningful impact across the trucking ecosystem in India." Noting that as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Karnataka tech-ecosystem over the last decade, the company fully understands what the city of Bengaluru has helped it achieve and how it will be playing a major role in unlocking our potential ahead. "Hence, 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 said.

"As we do this, we want to reiterate that a large part of operations would still continue to happen on the ORR, and hence we will continue to seek help from the concerned authorities to enable infrastructure improvements to facilitate smooth business operations," he said.

"We will not only continue to remain in the city of Bengaluru, but will also expand our footprint here," Yabaji further said, adding that "Bengaluru is home for us and as always, we continue to remain committed to relay our needs and issues to the relevant government authorities and seek support to get them resolved." Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday invited BlackBuck to relocate its operations to Visakhapatnam, after Yabaji's post on 'X' about the company moving out of its current location at Bellandur, citing infrastructure issues, had gone viral.

"ORR (Bellandur) has been our "office + home" for the last 9 years. But it's now very-very hard to continue here. We have decided to move out," Yabaji had posted.

"Background: Average commute for my colleagues shot up to 1.5+ hrs (one way). Roads full of potholes & dust, coupled with lowest intent to get them rectified. Didn't see any of this changing in the next 5 years," it added. PTI KSU KH