A 50-year-old woman who was seriously injured after falling off a scooter and being hit by a bus in Rajajinagar on Monday passed away at a hospital late at night in another case of Bengaluru’s pothole-filled roads taking life.
When they were attempting to dodge a pothole on the Vatal Nagaraj Road near Lulu Mall, Umadevi was riding pillion with her daughter Vanitha S, 28, when a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus knocked down their scooter. Umadevi was admitted to the intensive care unit at the ESIC hospital in Rajajinagar after the accident caused major head and leg injuries.
The incident also drew the attention of the chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, who promised swift action and directed the police to begin an investigation on Tuesday.
“I have given instructions, corporation (BBMP) commissioner also met. What has happened there (pothole) and repairing it is one part… I have also asked police to inquire into the reasons for the death, the complaint received and report back. Once the report comes, I have directed officials to take action against the guilty,” he said.
After several fatalities linked to potholes this year, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), in charge of providing facilities and infrastructure in the capital of Karnataka, has once again come under fire for civic apathy.
Supreeth J, 44, was killed in an accident involving his two-wheeler on the way to work in August, and Ashwin, a tech worker in Haveri, 27, was killed in an accident involving a pothole that the city’s civic organisations had excavated in March. Both men were their families’ sole providers of income.
Residents and users of the internet were outraged by these previous incidents, which even prompted the Karnataka High Court to summon and question BBMP officials about them several times. Although in September the High Court ordered the BBMP to repair potholes on major roads in Bengaluru within ten days, it is unclear if the order has been followed.