A 24-year-old bike-borne man became the recent casualty to the pothole-ridden roads in Bengaluru, police said on Sunday.The deceased biker was hit by a car that was trying to avoid the pothole and the two-wheeler toppled during the accident, said police.
The accident took place in the city’s Yelahanka area on Saturday. According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Harshad, 24, a student from Kerala who was studying at a private college in the city. The bike he was riding got hit by a car that lost control while trying to negotiate a pothole, said police.
According to police, there were three potholes along a stretch of around 100 metres. “Due to rain on Saturday evening, the potholes were filled with water and the driver was unable to notice them. The driver lost control and the vehicle turned turtle and hit the biker was heading from the opposite direction,” said a senior traffic police officer.
The pillion rider and the car driver were also injured in the accident and their condition is said to be serious, said police.
The development comes after the Karnataka high court said that civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has completely failed in implementing its orders on filling potholes on the city roads. On October 29, the division bench headed by chief justice Prasanna B Varale was told by the advocate for the petitioners that the number of people dying in pothole-related incidents was increasing due to the unscientific way of filling the potholes.
The BBMP advocate submitted a report on the efforts undertaken by the civic body to fill up potholes. However, the court said the BBMP “has completely failed” in its task and directed it to file an affidavit on how many potholes have been filled so far.
The remarks came after a woman, Umadevi ,50, who fell off a scooter and was run over by a bus on Monday in the Rajajinagar area of Bengaluru, died of her injuries at ESI hospital. Umadevi was riding pillion on the scooter being driven by her daughter Vanitha. She fell when Vanitha tried to swerve to avoid a pothole and was run over by a state transport bus — sustaining severe injuries to head and legs, her daughter had said on Monday.
Since October 2021, eight people have lost their lives due to road accidents across the state.
Meanwhile, BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Girinath has warned the BBMP officials of strict action, including suspension, if the potholes in the city are not fixed by November 15. The commissioner’s warning comes in the wake of the Karnataka high court expressing displeasure over BBMP’s inaction in filling potholes.
Speaking to reporters at the BBMP head office, Girinath said that two notices will be issued to the officials. The first will be to warn if a pothole is found uncovered and the second will be about disciplinary action, including suspension.
“Few notices have already been issued to assistant engineers, assistant executive engineers, executive engineers and chief engineers in this regard,” the commissioner said.
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