Bengaluru woman battles for life after pothole encounter

A 50-year-old Bengaluru resident on Monday sustained severe injuries while her daughter escaped with a minor one in an accident which locals blamed on a pothole that had opened up on the road.

The incident happened near Sujatha Talkies in Gopalapura when a speeding KSRTC bus rammed the duo's scooter from behind, throwing both women off the vehicle.

The FIR filed with the police blames the bus driver, but speaking to a TV channel, the daughter had cited the pothole as the reason. Eye-witnesses said the accident happened when the woman tried to avoid the pothole.

It is not the first such case in the city, where monsoon-battered roads have become even more deadly.

The civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), claims to have filled over 20,000 potholes. The bone-rattling daily commute tells a different story, with motorists saying that "most of the major roads are filled with potholes”.

On Monday, Umadevi was returning to her house in Gayathri Nagar in Rajajinagar from Srinagar after visiting her daughter Vanitha, 30, on Sunday.

Vanitha was riding the scooter while Umadevi was riding pillion. When the duo reached near LuLu Shopping Mall at 9.30 am, a KSRTC bus heading to Shivamogga rammed the scooter from behind.

The impact threw both women onto the road. One of Umadevi’s legs was stuck between the footboard and the road. The bus driver, Maruthi Rao, failed to apply the brakes and steered the bus on for a few metres.

Local people and commuters rushed the women to a nearby hospital following which Umadevi was shifted to the ESI Hospital in Rajajinagar. According to the police, Umadevi is severely injured and battling for her life. Vanitha has filed a complaint against Rao, the driver. “We have seized the bus and taken action against the driver,” a senior police officer said.

“If the complainant makes allegations about the road condition during the investigation, necessary action will be taken,” the police officer said. In his defence, Rao told the police that the accident happened due to the bad condition of the road and that he was not speeding.

Lives at risk

Jagannath, a daily commuter, told DH that he has changed his route due to potholes.

“I used to take the Airport Road to travel from Hebbal to MG Road. But owing to the poor condition of the road, I now take the route via Cantonment. Though this route is also filled with craters, the commuters are left with no other option but to choose between bad and worse,” he said.

Yet another commuter Rakesh S, a sales executive, said almost all roads in the city were bad.

While the civic body had initially claimed that there are only 500 potholes left to be filled, BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath said there are at least 1,500 potholes yet to be filled.

“We are taking measures to fill the potholes but the heavy rains have hindered the progress," Girinath said. "We will fast-track the work. Also, new potholes open up owing to rain, hence it is difficult to make a precise estimation of the number of potholes. According to an estimate, there might be at least another 1,500 potholes yet to be filled."