A Varthur resident has alleged that a pothole on a Bengaluru road caused her two-wheeler to crash, leaving her with an ankle fracture, surgery, nearly five days of hospitalisation and a medical bill of Rs 1.97 lakh.
Aishani Khanna said the accident occurred around noon on August 20 while she was travelling to work in the Varthur area. She told mediapersons that it was raining and that she was riding cautiously when she missed the pothole. She fell from the vehicle, 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 said.
According to her account, the crash caused an ankle fracture and other injuries. She underwent surgery and remained in hospital for almost five days. Khanna said the hospital bill had reached Rs 1.97 lakh and that she might need another surgery depending on her recovery.
She also described continuing psychological distress after the incident. “The mental trauma the incident has left on me is big. I keep recalling how the incident took place and it is difficult,” she said.
Khanna alleged that the roads in her area had remained in poor condition for nearly 10 years and that there had been little action to repair them. She said the Bengaluru East City Corporation should have addressed the road condition in Varthur earlier.
“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 also highlighted on X by Tejasvi Surya, who questioned the spending and accountability surrounding Bengaluru’s road infrastructure. Surya said the state government had claimed to spend nearly Rs 5,500 crore on the city’s roads over the past few years, while the condition of roads remained visible to residents.
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 road infrastructure works already undertaken and account for the money spent before allocating further funds.
“I had earlier demanded a White Paper on the Rs 5,500 crore already spent. The Government is yet to release it. Before spending thousands of crores more, Bengaluru deserves an account of the thousands of crores already spent,” Surya said in the post.
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 spending figures. No further details on the location of the pothole, repair status or any proposed compensation were provided.
