Bangalore 'astronaut' stunt sees potholes filled Published duration 4 September 2019

media caption 'Astronaut' explores India potholes

Authorities have filled in potholes in a road in the southern Indian city of Bangalore a day after an artist used them to recreate a "Moon exploration".

Artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy's video, featuring an "astronaut" slowly stepping across a "lunar landscape" gained traction on Indian social media.

Thousands of Indians are injured every year in accidents caused by potholes.

Nanjundaswamy has gained a reputation for using his art to highlight civic issues - and potholes in particular.

"The authorities don't contact me and I don't contact them either. But they always fix the pothole," he told BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi.

"I must have done this in about 50 potholes and the civic authorities have responded by fixing most of them," he added.

However, he tweeted his gratitude when the latest potholes he identified were paved over by authorities.

This isn't the first time Nanjundaswamy's art has made national and international headlines.

In 2015, he filled a pothole with a life-size "crocodile" , turning the 3.7m (12ft) waterlogged hole into a mock pond, which immediately caught the attention of the authorities.

The project cost him about 6,000 rupees ($83; £68).

"Getting potholes filled up is not a hobby for him," Anatha Subrahmanyam, his friend and a photojournalist at the Bangalore Mirror, said.

"It is his way of giving something back to society."