Bengaluru's battered roads continue to pose a serious threat to the people, with a third incident involving a school vehicle reported within a week and the second in a single day.
The latest incident occurred today near Skanda Moksh Society in Panathur-Balagere, where a school bus trapped as one of its wheels sank into an under-construction stormwater drain.
In the video, a JCB machine is seen attempting to push the bus out of the under-construction stormwater drain, while passers-by watch the rescue effort unfold.
The incident comes after a school minivan got stuck in an open drain this morning. The accident occurred on the Panathur-Bellandur road when the minivan was carrying students to a school in Doddanekundi.
Today's incident also comes close on the heels of a similar accident on September 12, when a school bus on Bengaluru's Balagere Main Road tilted dangerously after slipping into slush while trying to overtake another vehicle. A dashcam video from a car following the bus captured the moment it veered off the broken edge of the road, sinking into soft ground and nearly toppling over. Locals rushed in to help evacuate the children safely through the emergency exit. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Potholes and Politics
The problem has now escalated beyond civic concern. Following the first incident and growing frustration among tech companies and residents, Andhra Pradesh Human Resources Minister Nara Lokesh extended an invitation to BlackBuck co-founder Rajesh Yabaji, who had voiced his frustration publicly, to relocate to Vizag.
In a remark aimed at Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who had dismissed such appeals as "blackmail," Lokesh said, "Here's what sets Andhra Pradesh apart from others-we don't dismiss our people's genuine grievances as blackmail. We treat them with the dignity and seriousness they deserve."
Mr. Shivakumar, in an earlier interview with NDTV, had said, "He (Rajesh Yabaji) cannot threaten the government. Blackmailing a government won't work... No one will leave Bengaluru."
Meanwhile, leading voices from India Inc. have also spoken about the problem of potholes in Bengaluru and urged the government to take appropriate measures.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson of Biocon, called for "emergency measures" to address the issues, and Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital and Manipal Global Education, termed the Bengaluru situation a "big, big failure of governance."
Notably, DK Shivakumar has set a deadline of November for contractors to fill potholes across Bengaluru, following mounting criticism over the city's deteriorating road conditions and civic infrastructure.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Shivakumar, who also holds the portfolio of Bengaluru Development Minister, said the government was determined to address long-standing civic issues. "Contractors have been given a final deadline to fill the potholes within November to resolve the problem. Since a clean Bengaluru and smooth traffic are our goals, GBA will provide relief from potholes as soon as possible," he said in a post on 'X'.
