- A 22-year-old student died after falling near a pothole and being hit by a tipper truck in Bengaluru
- The lorry driver fled the scene; police have registered a hit-and-run case and are investigating the case
- Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah ordered potholes in Bengaluru to be filled within 30 days with quality work
In yet another pothole-related incident in Bengaluru, a 22-year-old student was killed after she came under the wheels of a tipper truck while trying to avoid a pothole in North Bengaluru's Avalahalli area on Monday.
The second-year B.Com student, identified as Dhanushree, was travelling to her college on a two-wheeler when she lost balance and fell onto the road after abruptly changing direction in an attempt to avoid a pothole near Budigere Cross. A tipper lorry, coming from behind, ran over her, killing her on the spot. The impact was so severe that the victim's head was crushed under the wheels, news agency IANS reported.
A hit-and-run case has been registered by the Avalahalli police, who are currently trying to catch the accused lorry driver, who fled without stopping after the accident. Meanwhile, the KR Puram Traffic Police, which oversees the Budigere road area, is also investigating the case.
The body of the student has been shifted to a private hospital.
This incident comes against the backdrop of a 30-day official deadline to fill all the potholes across every road in the city.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on August 27 said he has given 30 days' time to officials to make all the roads in the city motorable, with potholes filled.
The Chief Minister, who went on "city rounds", inspected the condition of roads and ongoing work to fix potholes.
"I have given instructions to fill potholes and to maintain quality in the work. I have suspended an assistant executive engineer as he had left a pothole just by filling gravel without putting tar or wet mix.
Contractors have to maintain the roads for which white topping is being done. White topping is being done for Hennur road, for which Rs 13 crore per km is being spent; it is a 5 km road project," Siddaramiah said.
He warned that the Commissioners and Chief Engineers of the five city corporations will be held responsible in case of any lapses.
The outrage against the condition of roads gained momentum following online trucking platform BlackBuck's decision to move the company out of its current location at Bellandur on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing commuting and road infrastructure issues.
Several prominent people, including IT veterans like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, have recently urged the state government to immediately intervene.
Stating that one cannot deny the pothole issue, the Chief Minister, while responding to a question, had said, "I don't want to blame the BJP, but they did not fill the potholes while in power; if they had done it, such a situation wouldn't have arisen. They didn't even release any funds for the maintenance of roads...leave it, we are in power now, we will ensure that the potholes are filled."
A key airport access route used by thousands of residents living in Whitefield, KR Puram, and Hoskote, Budigere Cross road has often drawn widespread criticism due to its dilapidated condition. It is considered one of the most time-efficient routes to reach the Kempegowda International Airport. However, its current state - with potholes filled with soil and jelly stones scattered across the stretch, making commuting particularly dangerous for two-wheeler riders.
(With inputs from IANS)
