A Bengaluru woman has alleged that a pothole in Varthur caused her two-wheeler to crash on August 20, leaving her with an ankle fracture, requiring surgery and resulting in a hospital bill of nearly Rs 1.97 lakh. The incident was reported on September 5 after the resident, Aishani Khanna, spoke to mediapersons about the accident and the condition of roads in her area.
Khanna, a resident of Varthur, said she was travelling to work at around noon when the accident occurred during rain. She said she was riding cautiously but failed to notice the pothole, causing her to fall from the two-wheeler, which then fell over her.
“It was around 12 pm and it was raining. Though I was cautious, I missed this pothole and as a result, I fell down and my two-wheeler fell over me,” Khanna was quoted as saying.
The crash left her with several injuries and she remained hospitalised for almost five days, according to the report. Khanna said the hospital expenses had reached Rs 1.97 lakh. She also said she might require another surgery depending on her recovery.
Describing the psychological impact of the incident, Khanna said the accident had caused significant mental trauma and that she continued to recall how it happened. She also alleged that the roads in her area had remained in poor condition for nearly a decade, with little action to repair them.
“The Bengaluru East City Corporation should have fixed the roads in Varthur a long time ago. The roads have been in a poor state for nearly ten years now. The government should take action to repair them instead of focusing on unwanted projects,” she said.
The incident was highlighted on X by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who questioned the spending and accountability surrounding Bengaluru’s road infrastructure. Surya said the state government had claimed to have spent nearly Rs 5,500 crore on the city’s roads over the past few years, while road conditions remained poor in several areas.
Surya also referred to an announcement by Minister Krishna Byre Gowda of another Rs 8,000 crore for road repairs in Bengaluru. He demanded that the government publish details of the road infrastructure works undertaken and account for the earlier expenditure before committing further funds.
“The State Government claims to have spent nearly Rs 5,500 crore on Bengaluru’s roads over the last few years. Yet, the condition of our roads is there for everyone to see,” Surya said in the post cited by the report. He added that the government had not released a White Paper on the earlier spending.
The report did not include a response from the Bengaluru East City Corporation or the state government to Khanna’s allegations about the road’s condition, the accident or the demands for details of road expenditure.
