Bengaluru continues to grapple with its pothole problem, with incidents now putting school-going children at risk. On Friday morning, a school bus fell into a pothole near Panathur Main Road, within the DCP East traffic limits.
Around 20 children had to be rescued through the bus’s back door, authorities said.
Dashcam footage from a vehicle behind the bus shows it slowly tilting as it gets stuck in a pothole and slush, while passersby rush to help.
The incident comes shortly after Karnataka’s Public Works Minister DK Shivkumar acknowledged that the city has around 10,000 potholes, highlighting the scale of the problem.
Potholes have already claimed lives in the state. Only a day earlier, a 44-year-old woman, Madhavi from Surathkal Kulai, Mangaluru, died after her two-wheeler toppled into a pothole on National Highway 66 near Kulur.
Madhavi fell under a moving lorry, allegedly driven negligently by Mohammed Farooq. She sustained severe injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities have pointed to both the negligence of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials, who failed to repair the highway, and the rash driving of the lorry as contributing factors.
A case has been registered at Mangaluru North Traffic Police Station under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bangalore Navigation System and Section 198(A) of the Indian Motor Vehicles Act. Notices have been issued to NHAI officials, and investigations are ongoing.
