On Wednesday morning, 20-year-old Tejaswi Gowda died in Bengaluru. Tejaswi was trying to avoid a pothole while riding in Uttarahalli when he lost control of the bike and fell. He was run over by a truck.
On Tuesday, a 20-year-old woman riding pillion was killed after she fell off the scooter and came under the wheels of a truck near Shetterahalli Gate in Bengaluru’s Devanahalli.
Her sister, who was riding the two-wheeler, was trying to avoid a pothole. Kavitha N, a resident of Kundana village was the victim who was run over by a truck.
With Tejaswi and Kavitha’s deaths, a total of five people have died in Bengaluru within a fortnight due to pothole related accidents.
On Monday, CM Siddaramaiah had directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to hold contractors accountable for maintenance of roads.
According to BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, the Palike has taken cognisance of the CM’s order and will produce the names of the contractors and also the names of the roads by this weekend.
“We will blacklist these contractors and they will not be allowed to bid for tenders floated by the BBMP in the future,” Commissioner Prasad said.
Dismissing the suo motu case filed against him by the Lokayukta, Commissioner Prasad said that he is used to people blaming him for everything.
“People blame me for everything. I am used to it by now. I will submit my response to the Lokayukta in a couple of weeks,” Manjunath Prasad added.
After Siddaramaiah visited the accident spot in Nayandahalli where a 47-year-old woman died in a pothole-related accident, officials of East and West zones, and corporators got together to discuss the issue of potholes.
“BBMP workers are working day and night to meet the deadline. We held a review meeting on Tuesday where we discussed the issue of potholes and solid waste management,” BBMP Mayor Sampath Raj said.
“Action will be taken against the contractors who have used faulty materials to build roads. Also, near the Kilo Bridge, where one person died, the engineers have visited the spot to figure out why a portion of the bridge collapsed. We are inspecting the pipelines near Magadi Road to figure out where the leakages are happening due to which the road is getting flooded,” the Mayor added.
The deteriorating condition of city's roads and accidents caused by potholes is forcing the police to view poor quality of road work as a criminal act. The state police department has sought the inclusion of provisions in the Indian Motor Vehicles Act to book government officers responsible for a stretch of road in case of accidents due to inferior quality of roads.
The Karnataka State Police has sent its suggestions to the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha, which is reviewing the proposed amendment to the Indian Motor Vehicles Act.
It has suggested that the concerned government authority executing the works on the road should be held responsible and a provision must be made in the amendment to initiate criminal action.