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‘Repair roads in 15 days,' K'taka HC tells BBMP after pothole death in Bengaluru
Karnataka HC feels guilty for the tragic death of techie after falling into a pothole orders for a survey and asks BBMP to fill potholes in CBD within 15 days of time
On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court stated that it felt ‘guilty and sorry’ whenever it read reports of deaths in accidents caused by poor road conditions in Bengaluru.
After learning of the death of a 27-year-old man who suffered injuries after falling into a pothole on Sunday night, a division bench comprising of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice SR Krishna Kumar ordered the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to conduct a three-day survey of potholes in the CBD.
Techie Ashwin (27) died in a tragic accident by falling into a pothole on a Sunday night while returning home from his friend's house. His friends and family were outraged by the BWSSB and the BBMP's continued neglect. Last week also the High Court had taken charge against the BBMP and BWSSB, requesting a new work plan to fill potholes in the city. Roads are frequently dug because of a lack of coordination between the two bodies.
"We're deeply saddened by the young man's untimely death. Following our previous order, the respondent (BBMP) has filed a memo outlining a work plan to fill/repair potholes in Bengaluru's CBD area. We are dissatisfied with the proposed work plan," said the bench.
It also spoke with BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, who was present in court, about the matter. "We demand that potholes in the CBD area be repaired as quickly as possible. The roads must be repaired within 15 days of the incident. We order respondents to survey all existing roads in the area within three days," the court said.
The BBMP's counsel told the court that development projects undertaken by various agencies had deteriorated the condition of the roads. He asked the court to permit him to include those agencies as parties in the proceedings.
The court granted permission to include agencies/bodies as required parties, as well as the American Road Technology and Pvt Ltd agency, which operates the Python machine. As a result, the court permitted him to file the necessary application outlining the agencies to be impleaded as respondents in the PIL. The hearing has been rescheduled for April 5.
Vijayan Menon and others sought a series of directives in a PIL filed in 2015, including one requiring the BBMP to submit an action taken report on repairing killer potholes and establishing a mechanism for citizens to file complaints about poor street conditions.
