Online trucking platform BlackBuck's co-founder & CEO Rajesh Yabaji on September 18 clarified that the company is only relocating within the city to a different location, and asserted that Bengaluru is home, and the firm will expand its footprint here.

On September 16, Yabaji said that the company has decided to move out of its current location at Bellandur on Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Bengaluru, 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 government of Karnataka 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 have 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 authorities concerned 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."

On September 17, Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh 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.

The post of BlackBuck co-founder

"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.

Bengaluru is home, BlackBuck is only relocating within city: CEO