A grieving dad’s mission to make our roads safer, one pothole at a time

Seven years ago, the 52-year-old lost his 16-year-old son Prakash, when his bike hit a pothole on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, in Andheri, near Gate number 3

Mumbaikars travelling along city and suburban thoroughfares often come across the familiar sight of Dadarao Bilhore patiently filling and smoothening out potholes, sometimes accompanied by Pothole warriors. Today, not many know that Bilhore’s altruism stemmed from a personal tragedy.

Since his son’s death, Bilhore vowed to take matters into own his hands (HT Photo)

Seven years ago, the 52-year-old lost his 16-year-old son Prakash, when his bike hit a pothole on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, in Andheri, near Gate number 3.

Bilhore’s initiative deserved a revisit, if only to juxtapose it with the civic body’s sustained apathy towards our roads -- illustrated by the fact that seven lives have been lost over the last three months in suburban Mumbai, the latest being a mishap on a bad road in Diva, Thane.

Since his son’s death, Bilhore vowed to take matters into own his hands. He said, filling the potholes with sand and debris, so that others do not meet Prakash’s fate, was akin “to filling the void that he left behind”.

“I started out in August 2015, to help deal with my own grief and keep my son’s memory alive,” said Bilhore.

Bilhore was at his grocery store on July 28, 2015, when the incident took place. Prakash was riding pillion without a helmet, with his cousin Ram. He had just passed his Class 10th exams. He was homeward bound, after seeking admission to a polytechnic college in Bhandup. “It was raining heavily at the time. That’s when his bike skidded on a pothole and he fell with such an impact that he succumbed to a brain hemorrhage,” recalled Bilhore.

The grief-stricken father complained to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the pothole was filled three days after his son’s demise. “Had it been filled earlier, my son would have been alive today,” said the still-grieving Bilhore.

In 2018, the Bilhores relived the incident when Ram’s mother, Radha suffered leg and eye injuries after his bike hit a pothole the second time on Aarey Road, Goregaon, shaking his confidence. Radha had to get four stitches on her forehead and was unable to open her eyelid.

“Luckily, my sister-in-law survived but she had injuries and fractures. Only when one’s family members suffer pothole-related mishaps does one realise the seriousness of this issue,” he said.

He was equally disturbed by similar repetitive incidents in the city, whereupon he took matters into his hands and hit the streets with the single-minded focus to fill potholes. His mission has garnered much appreciation from people, with citizens joining him in his endeavour. He has rightfully earned the title, ‘pothole dada.’

“I was the lone campaigner initially and did it in the name of Prakash Foundation. Eventually, his friends also joined me. I have been using road bond liquid, an eco-friendly material, to fill potholes since 2018,” he said.

Eventually, groups like ‘Pothole warriors’ joined him in 2018. The outcome of Bilhore’s efforts was the ‘Fill in the Potholes Project’ -- a citizens group in Mumbai which developed a mobile app Spothole, to register and seek help to fill the craters in the city.

Using sand and gravel collected from building sites and other material, Bilhore has filled 1450 potholes till date.

“These wounds don’t heal, nor have we got a closure. Whenever I see my son’s friends who are qualified engineers, I feel the void,” he said. “I used to be a vegetable vendor but my English educated son was never embarrassed of my work. There was no comfort provided nor any empathy shown by the government after his demise. How do families come to terms with such a monumental tragedy on account of civic apathy?”

In anticipation of starting college, Prakash had ordered clothes online, which the family donated, eventually. “We couldn’t bear to keep them with us,” said Bilhore.

Ironically, a month before his death, Prakash had also installed CCTV cameras at his father’s grocery shop. Today, the shop has been converted into a showroom for branded shoes. The cameras however continue to remain a permanent fixture guarding their shop.

“He gifted us this third eye before departing from this world. We believe he is watching over us, safeguarding us through those cameras,” said Bilhore.