Puducherry Teenager Fixes Pothole After Grandfather’s Accident, Gains Appreciation From Former Legislator

The potholes on the roads of cities across India have existed for a long time and are an issue that the citizens face on a daily basis. As per the government data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), potholes accounted for 1,471 road accident deaths in 2020. In 2018 and 2019, potholes were the cause of 2,015 and 2,140 road accident deaths, respectively.

Residents and vehicles, especially two-wheelers, are more likely to be involved in accidents due to potholes on the roads, which is why citizens frequently approach the city authorities to mend them. However, often, the requests often fall on deaf ears.

In one such instance, taking matters into his own hands, a 13-year-old boy in Puducherry covered a pothole and highlighted the grave issue of inadequate road infrastructure through his action.

Rectifying Civic Authorities’ Mistake

Masilamani, an eighth grader in Puducherry, was moved by the deplorable state of a road in his neighbourhood. Thus, he decided to fix the pothole that resulted in his grandfather’s accident. A few days ago, the teenage boy’s grandfather, who was riding a motorcycle, fell off the bike after it hit a pothole. The senior citizen suffered a fracture and ended up in the hospital.

Following the accident, the 13-year-old boy fixed the pothole and other damaged areas of the road in Sendhanatham in neighbouring Villianoor after gathering materials such as sand and gravel from various locations around his village and mixing them with cement.

"My wish is that nobody should meet with accidents and suffer injuries as my grandfather has," he said, as reported by NDTV.

Appreciation For Teenager

Former legislator Vayyapuri Manikandan gave Masilamani a free copy of a book in recognition of his act of civic responsibility.

The boy's neighbours gave him shawls as well as congratulations. A villager who met the youngster claimed that the road between Puducherry and Pathukannu has been in poor shape for the past seven years and that nothing has been done to repair it.

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