A two-wheeler rider was killed when he came under the wheels of a speeding minibus, allegedly while trying to avoid a pothole. The incident took place on Thursday evening near Kanteerava Studio on a road off Outer Ring Road.
This is the second incident in ten days where motorists lost their lives while trying to navigate potholes. A physically challenged senior citizen was killed in an accident in Manganahalli while trying to navigate a pothole earlier this month.
The deceased, Manoj Kumar Gowdar, 25, who hails from Sirsi and works as a research assistant in Peenya Industrial Area was returning home in Mahalakshmi Layout when the accident occurred. He was riding his bike to the left of a minibus next to him. However, he suddenly took a sharp right turn, purportedly to avoid a large pothole just a few feet away on the road. He hit a pole and then the back of the bus and fell. He and his bike came under the wheels of the minibus.
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A senior traffic police official said from the scene of the accident, it looked like the rider was trying to avoid the pothole and took a sudden right which caused the accident. However, the Rajajinagar Traffic police only registered a case against the bus driver for causing the accident and not the BBMP.
BBMP waiting for report
BBMP Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said officials visited the accident spot and would take a report from the traffic police. “Preliminary information suggests the motorist tried to overtake from the left and hit a pole,” he said.
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However, he said the civic body was committed to taking steps to make roads safe for citizens and was coordinating with other utility agencies such as BESCOM and BWSSB. “We are working towards the deadlines to make arterial roads pothole-free by September 20 and all other interior roads by September 30,” he said.
Revenue Minister R. Ashok said he heard the accident occurred as the rider hit a pole and did not concede the role of pothole.