MYSORE: It's not the government's job alone to fix bad roads, even individuals have a responsibility, says Francis Bobo.
The 61-year-old Frenchman would rightly know for he has been quietly
repairing any pothole or bad road he comes across in Mysore in whatever
way he can.
Francis even keeps a repair kit, including a spade and a few gunny bags permanently in his four-wheeler. Whenever he finds debris in his farmland or anywhere else, he fills it up on roads which are in bad shape. It's a temporary fix to the problem but at least covers a gaping hole.
Francis was earlier working in a parachute company back in his country. But on a trip to India, he fell in love with the country and then an Indian girl who he married, which brought him to Mysore. Married to writer Meera Mysore, Francis has made the city his home for the past 18 years.
While living in the city the pathetic state of the roads made him sit up and think. Francis kickstarted his mission of fixing roads with the very debris he collected while constructing his house.
Francis even keeps a repair kit, including a spade and a few gunny bags permanently in his four-wheeler. Whenever he finds debris in his farmland or anywhere else, he fills it up on roads which are in bad shape. It's a temporary fix to the problem but at least covers a gaping hole.
Francis was earlier working in a parachute company back in his country. But on a trip to India, he fell in love with the country and then an Indian girl who he married, which brought him to Mysore. Married to writer Meera Mysore, Francis has made the city his home for the past 18 years.
While living in the city the pathetic state of the roads made him sit up and think. Francis kickstarted his mission of fixing roads with the very debris he collected while constructing his house.
People must do something for society: Bobo
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Francis Bobo
MYSORE: Francis Bobo,
the Frenchman who's often spotted fixing potholed Mysore roads, says he
doesn't consider fixing worn out stretches as a lowly job. Whenever he
comes across a broken road, he makes all efforts to get some debris -
sometimes from his own farmland - and save road-users from back-breaking
rides. "I don't feel ashamed to repair Indian roads though it is
considered as a lowly job here," Francis says proudly. "When people call
me silly, I say to them calmly, 'My second name Bobo means the same in
Spanish'," he adds.
The silent worker recollects some of the work he has done. "I once saw a mud road on the way to a farmland in Gorur which was waterlogged. It was causing inconvenience to villagers, especially during monsoon. So I I fixed the road with stones, jelly stones and mud and set it right though the road was being used by others," he says.
Francis feels people should not restrict themselves to their houses and compound walls but do something for society. He feels individual behavior can bring change in society. Extending his service to weaker sections of the society, Francis has also built houses for two families and even takes care of their children's education.
His wife Meera says that their domestic help once asked if she didn't feel ashamed seeing her husband repair roads like daily wage labourers. "I said there's nothing to feel embarrassed when one is doing good work," says Meera.
The silent worker recollects some of the work he has done. "I once saw a mud road on the way to a farmland in Gorur which was waterlogged. It was causing inconvenience to villagers, especially during monsoon. So I I fixed the road with stones, jelly stones and mud and set it right though the road was being used by others," he says.
Francis feels people should not restrict themselves to their houses and compound walls but do something for society. He feels individual behavior can bring change in society. Extending his service to weaker sections of the society, Francis has also built houses for two families and even takes care of their children's education.
His wife Meera says that their domestic help once asked if she didn't feel ashamed seeing her husband repair roads like daily wage labourers. "I said there's nothing to feel embarrassed when one is doing good work," says Meera.
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