In the wake of yet another pothole death in Bengaluru, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday, November 2, directed officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to inspect the repair works undertaken. In its order, the bench of Chief Justice Prasanna Varale and Justice Ashok S Kinagi requested the Chief Engineer of NHAI to inspect the work undertaken by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) by awarding contracts to private companies.
“It can be only said that in spite of various orders of this court and pendency of petition for six to seven years, there is no positive outcome. The road conditions in Bengaluru city even after a span of six or seven years, have not changed very positively and the unfortunate sufferers are citizens of Bengaluru city,” the bench observed, according to LiveLaw. Further, the bench observed that as per compliance reports submitted by the BBMP in the past, pothole repair work was awarded to private contractors and that there was no independent third-party assessment of the same.
The NHAI has been asked to submit its report in four weeks. Further, the court has stated that if any BBMP officials or contractors are found guilty of dereliction of duty, the same can be mentioned separately in the report. The High Court was hearing the 2015 plea of one Vijay Menon, who sought direction to the civic body to fill up potholes on major and arterial roads in Bengaluru.
However, Bengaluru’s potholes continue to be a menace and safety hazard for commuters. In the latest incident on October 29, a 24-year-old man lost his life after being hit by a car that was swerving to avoid a pothole. CCTV visuals showed the car coming down the road in Attur Layout in Yelahanka, when it suddenly swerved to avoid a rainwater-filled pothole. The sudden move caused the car to overturn and crash into a bike on the other side of the road. The person riding the bike, identified as 24-year-old Harshad, a student from Kerala, died on the spot. The pillion rider of the bike and the car driver are in a critical condition.
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