A Bengaluru woman has alleged that a pothole in Varthur caused her two-wheeler to crash, resulting in an ankle fracture, surgery and nearly five days of hospitalisation. Aishani Khanna said the accident occurred on August 20 while she was travelling to work during rain.
Khanna, a resident of Varthur, told mediapersons that she was riding cautiously at around noon when she missed the pothole. She fell from the two-wheeler, which then fell over her, causing multiple injuries.
“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,” she said.
Khanna said she was hospitalised for almost five days and underwent surgery for the ankle fracture. The hospital bill has risen to Rs 1.97 lakh, she said, adding that she may require another surgery depending on her recovery.
“The mental trauma the incident has left on me is big. I keep recalling how the incident took place and it is difficult,” Khanna said.
She also alleged that roads in her area had remained in poor condition for nearly a decade, with little action to repair them. Khanna said the Bengaluru East City Corporation should have addressed the road conditions in Varthur earlier.
“The roads in my area had 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 also highlighted on X by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, who questioned the spending and disclosure of road infrastructure funds in the city. Surya said the state government had claimed to have spent nearly Rs 5,500 crore on Bengaluru’s roads over the past few years, while the condition of several roads remained visibly poor.
Surya also referred to an announcement by Minister Krishna Byre Gowda of another Rs 8,000 crore for repairing Bengaluru’s roads. He demanded that the government publish details of the works undertaken and account for the expenditure before allocating additional 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 Deccan Herald.
He added that he had previously sought a white paper on the Rs 5,500 crore already spent and alleged that the government had not released one. The report did not include a response from the state government or the relevant civic authority to the allegations about the road or expenditure.
Khanna’s case comes amid continuing public complaints about potholes and road quality in Bengaluru. The immediate details of any inspection, repair order or civic action concerning the Varthur pothole were not available in the report.
