RAJKOT: The busy Greenland crossroads, the entry point to Rajkot from Ahmedabad, witnessed amusing scenes on Wednesday when two citizens resorted to a unique protest to highlight pothole woes. The protest aimed

the civic body for its negligence also showcased the shoddy work done by its road contractors after dangerous potholes were created soon after the rains.

The two men - Lakshman Bathwar and Gangabhai Mer - lay down sprawling inside a pothole filled with water on the service road and covered themselves in mud that the former had specially ordered for the protest. The video of the protest went viral on social media.

The protest was planned by Bathwar, but he was joined in on the spot by Mer who took a liking to his idea.

“I have been travelling daily on this service road which is riddled with potholes. On Wednesday, a woman who was riding pillion on a bike fell inside this crater. I was a witness to this accident as I was driving just behind the bike,” Bathwar told TOI.

While speaking with his friends about the accident and daily drudgery of driving on this road, Bathwar hit upon the idea of this unique protest .

On Thursday, he procured a tractor-full of mud and reached the spot. In full public view, he lay down inside the three foot deep pothole and instructed the tractor driver to start pouring mud on him.

Soon, he was joined by Mer who was initially witnessing Bathwar’s protest along with many other people.

Once he was almost covered in mud, the remaining mud was poured into the pothole as a symbolic reminder to the

(RMC) to fill them up. Bathwar operates his tempo in the agriculture marketing yard at Gondal crossroads and takes this service road daily.