Woman mowed down in Bengaluru due to pothole menace, CM Bommai assures action

A woman has been killed in a road accident after she fell off a scooter and came under a bus in Bengaluru. She was riding pillion behind her daughter and fell off the scooter as they were trying to manoeuvre around a pothole.

Bengaluru's infamous potholes have claimed yet another life on Monday night when a 50-year-old woman, who was knocked off a scooter and run over by a bus, succumbed to injuries at a hospital. The unfortunate incident happened in Bengaluru's Rajajinagar on Monday when the woman, identified as Umadevi, was riding pillion behind her daughter and fell off the scooter as they were trying to manoeuvre around a pothole.

Potholes in Bengaluru have killed many in the past, with local body BBMP blamed for civic apathy. (Sanjeev Verma/Image for representation)

The woman sadly came under an oncoming KSRTC bus, which gave her serious injuries to the head and legs. Although she was rushed to a hospital in the area, she succumbed to her injuries later that night.

“A woman who got hit by a bus yesterday while trying to avoid potholes on the road in Bengaluru, succumbed to her injuries today,” news agency ANI reported.

The incident also caught the eye of chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, who assured prompt action and ordered the police to conduct a probe into the matter on Tuesday.

"I have given instructions, corporation (BBMP) commissioner also met. What has happened there (pothole) and repairing it is one part... I have also asked police to inquire into the reasons for the death, the complaint received and report back. Once the report comes, I have directed officials to take action against the guilty," he was quoted by news agency PTI.

Cops from the Malleshwaram traffic police station have nabbed the driver of the government bus, while further investigation is on.

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The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), responsible for civic amenities and infrastructural assets in the Karnataka capital, has come under fire for civic apathy for multiple pothole-related deaths this year.

A 44-year-old man, identified as Supreeth J, was killed in August on his way to work after losing control of his two-wheeler upon hitting a pothole, while a 27-year-old Haveri-based techie, Ashwin, was killed after he fell into a pothole dug by the city's civic bodies in March. Both men were the only breadwinners for their families.

These past instances have left residents and the internet enraged, even prompting the Karnataka High Court to summon and question BBMP officials multiple times in this regard. Although the HC directed the BBMP to fill potholes on major roads in Bengaluru within 10 days in September, it is not clear if the deadline has been met.