Bad roads have claimed the life of yet another motorist this month. A 47-year-old man was killed, when his two-wheeler skidded and hit barricades around a pit that had been dug up in the middle of Hesaraghatta Main road, on Friday night. The barricades had been put for ongoing Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) work without adequate lighting, warnings or safety measures, said a police official.
This is the third incident this month where motorists have met with fatal accidents while trying to negotiate potholes or bad stretches.
The deceased was identified as Anandappa S., who lived in T. Dasarahalli and worked in a private firm. He was returning home from work when the accident took place.
“He was near Sri Krishna Cake Palace on Hesaraghatta Main Road, but did not see the barricade or the pit in the middle of the road, and fell,” the police official added.
The pit had allegedly been dug up by private contractors on behalf of the BWSSB to replace a valve, but it had not been closed and there were not enough barricades.
Mr. Anandappa sustained severe injuries when he fell. Passers-by, along with the traffic police, took him to a hospital in the area where he succumbed to his injuries early on Saturday.
Cases registered
While the police have registered a case against the contractors of the private company which had taken up the work and BWSSB engineers concerned, they have also registered a case against the deceased motorcyclist under Section 279 (rash driving on public way and Section 304(a) (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code.
The accident took place just before the September 20 deadline for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to repair all potholes on arterial roads.
While it wasn’t a pothole- related death in this case, motorists, especially two-wheeler riders, are more at risk when navigating bad stretches.
In the first week of September, a 75-year-old physically challenged senior citizen was killed while he was allegedly trying to navigate a pothole on Manganahalli Main Road. He died on the spot.
The Bangalore Development Authority which was responsible for maintaining the road said that BWSSB has cut the road to lay some pipeline. However, the contractor had not restored the road.
A few days ago, a 25-year-old youth riding a two-wheeler was killed when he came under the wheels of a speeding mini-bus after he swerved abruptly while trying to avoid a pothole. However, in this case the police registered a case against the bus driver and not the civic agency.
