For 54-year-old KS Umashankar, a government employee residing in Bengaluru, avoiding a pothole on the road has turned his world up side down.
Umashanker, who was walking on Tumakuru Road on earlier this month, was hit by a mini-truck when he tried to avoid a pothole on the road, reports Sunitha Rao for The Times of India. The accident happened in front of Govardhan Theatre at around 6 15 pm and Umashanker, who sustained severe injuries on his right leg, was rushed to the hospital.
Although the doctors tried their best to save the limb, the threat of gangrene and blood poisoning loomed large. On September 6, Umashanker's right leg was amputated below the knee, to prevent blood poisoning.
Umashanker's wife Nagarathna told the newspaper that he's still recovering.
“The road was in bad condition. We registered a road accident complaint with Yeshwantpur police, and the hospital is treating it as a medico-legal case," she was quoted as saying.
Although Somashekar S, chief engineer (major roads), BBMP admitted that the stretch of the road was in bad condition, he maintained that he was not aware of Umashanker's accident.
“The entire road is damaged because of road digging. But we cannot say the accident happened because of the pothole. I am not aware of any accident there,“ he said.
In an attempt to improve the condition of the roads in the city, the BBMP has been undertaking pothole fixing work for the past month. According to the BBMP Commissioner, there were 5067 potholes on a 957km stretch of road and the pothole fixing work is expected to be completed soon.