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Around 20 children had a narrow escape on the morning of Friday, September 12, when their school bus got stuck in a pothole on the waterlogged Panathur–Balagere Road in Bengaluru.
Dashcam footage from a vehicle behind the bus captured the moment it slowly tilted to one side as a wheel sank into a rain-filled crater. The road, already reduced to a slippery slush due to overnight showers, gave way, leaving the bus dangerously tilted.
The children were safely evacuated through the emergency exit at the back of the bus. Passers-by, traffic police officers, and the driver of another bus rushed to help, pulling the children out one by one. They were temporarily stranded on the muddy roadside before being taken to safety, some in another bus, others by local residents. All the children escaped unharmed.
The incident occurred in an area under the jurisdiction of the East Traffic DCP, which has long been a hazard for commuters. Residents describe the Panathur–Balagere Road as a “death trap” for motorists and pedestrians, frequently battered by rain and riddled with potholes. Waterlogging, crater-like potholes, and constant traffic jams have made the stretch one of Bengaluru’s worst examples of civic neglect. The road regularly draws complaints and viral videos highlighting its poor condition.
In August, Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar acknowledged public outrage over the city's pothole issue. He stated that both temporary and permanent measures were being implemented to address the problem, and the police had been tasked with flagging dangerous stretches. “Around 10,000 potholes have been identified. As many as 5,377 have been closed. We have a program to fill the remaining 5,000,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister also inspected several arterial and residential roads as part of the state government's pothole filling initiative. According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), over 5,000 potholes were identified citywide, with priority given to 4,400 critical stretches. As of August 26, Shivakumar confirmed that approximately 2,400 potholes had been filled.