Crumbling, pothole-riddled roads are a reality in Bengaluru. So much so that even the Karnataka High Court’s orders to rectify the situation have been ignored.
On Monday afternoon, 10 December, a pothole in Kammanahalli claimed the life of a 22-year-old motorist who was run over by a BMTC bus.
According to the Banaswadi Traffic Police, the incident occurred at around 2 pm on Monday, 10 December, at the Kammanahalli Main Road when 22-year-old Dilwan lost his balance while tried to avoid a pothole and fell off his two-wheeler.
“The victim was a security guard and was coming from Jal Vayu Vihar Road. The road was dug up near Anand Sweets and he lost his balance there due to a huge pothole there,” the Banaswadi Traffic Police said.
After Dilwan fell from his bike, a BMTC bus with the licence plate number KA 01 F 4752 ran over him. “The bus was coming from the Hennur Bus Depot. Dilwan died on the spot,” the police said.
The Banaswadi Traffic Police said that the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board was repairing drains in the area and had dug up the road a week ago.
“There was a huge pothole on the road where the debris from the digging work was discarded. The victim tried to manoeuver his vehicle to avoid the pothole and lost control. Since the repair work has begun, the traffic movement is restricted to the right side of the road. On Monday, since the traffic was heavy, vehicles were moving on the left side but at a slow speed,” the police added.
Civic Agencies Trade Blame
However, BBMP officials said that the road repairs must be carried out by the BWSSB since the agency had dug up the road due to the drain repair work. When TNM contacted BWSSB, an official said that the pothole was repaired on Monday evening.
“The BWSSB did not fill up the pothole. The traffic police did. The BBMP and BWSSB never repair the roads properly after digging it up. Whenever potholes are spotted on major roads, the traffic police sometimes end up filling up the potholes,” the Banaswadi Police said.
However, VK Jagadeesha, DCP Traffic said that the department was working with BBMP and BWSSB to ensure that potholes are filled up as and when they are spotted. “We have instructed the BWSSB to complete the work as soon as possible. The agency has agreed to cooperate with us,” he added.
This is not the first time Bengaluru residents have succumbed due to killer potholes. On 11 October 2017, 20-year-old Tejaswi Gowda was killed when he similarly tried to avoid a pothole while riding in Uttarahalli and fell after losing control of his bike. He was then run over by a truck.
On 10 October 2017, a 20-year-old woman, Kavitha N, a resident of Kundana village was killed after she fell off the scooter and came under the wheels of a truck near Shetterahalli Gate in Bengaluru’s Devanahalli. Her sister, who was riding the two-wheeler, was trying to avoid a pothole.
On 8 October 2017, Radha, a resident of Bengaluru’s Shyampura, died on Mysuru Road. She had left home along with her nephew Ravi Kumar to visit her ailing mother in Ramanagara district on Sunday morning. When they reached Nayandahalli, Ravi Kumar was reportedly riding slowly as he knew about the infamous potholes on the stretch. When Ravi applied brakes due to a pothole, the duo fell. Radha was run over by a truck.
The BBMP who has come under fire time and again for the poor condition of roads has maintained that there are only 35 potholes in Bengaluru.
(This article was first published in The News Minute and has been reposted with permission)
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