Bengaluru: A day after he rode a horse to his office, Bengaluru-based software engineer Roopesh Kumar Verma has become an internet sensation.

However, Verma, who chose the novel way to protest against the city’s traffic snarls, says he never expected to catch so many eyeballs.

Speaking to News 18, Verma said, “I am from a middle-class family. This kind of social media attention is hard to digest. I never expected this.”

He added, “I have been staying in Bengaluru for the past eight years and I am fed up of the bottlenecks and air pollution. Bengaluru is overcrowded and too many vehicles on the road lead to traffic jams every day. In fact, I learnt horse riding because of the traffic headache.”

When questioned about his decision to quit, Verma, whose office is located on the Embassy Golf Links campus on Intermediate Ring Road, said he had plans of starting his own venture.

“I have concerns for my country. Most of the techies are working for MNCs, making them rich. Instead of that, like-minded software engineers should gather and start their own venture,” he said.

“There are multiple reasons to quit this field. I may continue to stay in the technical field but will never work for MNCs.

“The situation of software engineers in today’s competitive world is disastrous. Those who ride auto-rickshaws and trucks have their own union to raise their voice but software engineers have no unions or organisation. The big companies never care for their employees. We always work under immense pressure,” he said.

Verma, a native of Pilani in Rajasthan, said he wanted to set up his own software firm.

“I have been researching on various start-ups for a couple of years and I am gathering resources to begin my own firm. I am in touch with like-minded techies who are equally frustrated with their job,” he said.

The software engineer said he wanted to serve in the army, but his dream never come true. “It is unfortunate that I became a techie,” he said.