Pothole Claims Another Life, 52-Yr-Old Bengaluru Woman Crushed By A Lorry While Avoiding It

On Sunday, 47-year-old Radha Anjanappa, a resident of Shyampura, who was riding pillion along with her nephew, died instantly after the rider lost balance while trying to negotiate the bad roads at Nayandahalli junction.

The incident

According to the police, Radha was crushed under the wheels of a truck. The rider Ravi Kumar, 24 sustained serious injuries and was shifted to a private hospital nearby. The duo was heading towards Radha’s parent’s house in Ramanagara to visit her ailing mother Venkatamma, 60 kilometres away from Bengaluru.

Byatarayanapura traffic police said Ravi tried to negotiate potholes and swerved right when a lorry brushed against the two-wheeler at around 10.30 am. Kumar lost control and crashed to his left and his aunt Radha to the right, The lorry’s left front wheel ran over Radha’s neck. She died, instantly. Both of them were wearing helmets. The passerby caught hold of driver Totian Ramesh, from Tamil Nadu and beat him up before handing him over to the police, said a report by The Times of India.

Radha’s body was shifted to Victoria Hospital for postmortem and handed over to her family members. Shiva Kumar, DCP said, “The accident stretch is in a bad shape and it is damaged further by the construction of Namma Bengaluru Metro.” Mayor N Sampath Raj visited the spot and said, “We’ll pay Rs 5 lakh relief to the woman’s family,” according to the report by The Times of India.

Similar incidents and blame game

This accident comes just four days after the tragic death of Sagai Mary and Antony Joseph who fell from a two-wheeler and got run over by a bus on Sirsi Circle flyover. They were trying to avoid a pothole when a Tamil Nadu road transport bus, both died on the spot, but their granddaughter who they had taken to the hospital survived. A public outrage that had erupted in the aftermath of the death of a couple

The failure of BBMP and Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George in acting immediately has been criticised heavily. George had said, the potholes can only be filled after the end of this battering rain spell.

The city residents are also unhappy with the insensitive way he had dealt with the incidents of deaths on Sirsi Circle flyover victims. The Mayor had reportedly argued with the family whether the victims were wearing helmets at the time of the accident. Later the CCTV footage that they were indeed wearing helmets.

Measures to be taken

The BBMP was earlier filling these potholes with hot gravel and asphalt mix and will now opt for filling the potholes with wet mix-cement and gravels, said a report by the Deccan Chronicle. The cold mix might not be as effective as the hot mix, but there are no options as the rains are not receding.

The Logical Indian take

Potholes are the lowly annoyance that cost billions of rupees to the government and causes vehicle damages. These cause loss of human lives and end up rendering many handicaps. For deaths caused by potholes, the government must hold contractors and ministers criminally liable for substandard roads.

Will the BBMP wake up only after potholes claim the lives, innocent citizens? The count of lives claimed by the potholes on Mysuru Road is on the upward move by each passing day. With three fatalities in five days on Mysuru Road, the answer seems to be yes.

Potholes in India are emerging as one of the biggest killers. The story of potholes claiming lives is both alarming and sad. They have long provoked dark humour, manifesting in jokes, cartoons, songs and videos. But it no longer remains to be a matter of joke when people die or are maimed because of the manifestations of negligence on the part of those responsible for providing public service.

When will the BBMP take the responsibility of providing better roads to its citizens? The Logical Indian community urges the concerned departments to look into the matter and ensure that the roads are well maintained so that no more innocent lives are lost due to potholes.

Also read: Over 10,000 Lives Were Claimed By Potholes In The Last Three Years, Across India