‘My bike fell into a pothole...’

Sixteen-year-old Nata lost her life to civic bodies’ negligence. HTtalks to some people who were luckier.

Name: VK Arora

HT Image

Profession: Owns an Event Management Company

Residence: Kiran Vihar

Troublespot: Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg Link road from Krishna Nagar to Geeta Colony. The Delhi Jal Board dug up this MCD road and it’s been lying like that for more than two months now.

His plight

Arora cannot stop thanking his stars for saving his life. For him, a shortcut turned out to be a death trap, almost. “I was planning to have some snacks with friends. This stretch is supposed to be a shortcut to Geeta Colony. I did not realise that the place had become a bottleneck with deep potholes all over. I was driving through the stretch when a truck came from nowhere. I drove my car into a pothole. The truck still managed to nick my car. But I was able to save my as well as my friends lives,” he said.

For the last 20 days, Arora has not been able to use his car. The road has become a virtual death hole for all vehicle users, especially bikers. Shopkeepers in the area are also suffering losses as people have stopped coming because of the potholes.

The damages

Arora has spent around Rs 10,000 on his Santro for the cosmetic changes till now. He still does not know the extent of internal damage to his car. “I have suffered for no fault of my own. The insurance companies do not pay much for such accidents so I had to pay from my pocket. This is not done,” he said.

Just like any other 20-year-old, Jasbir dreamt of getting a flashy bike. But a small pothole shattered his aspiration. Jasbir met with a serious accident while he was riding a friend’s bike, resulting in multiple injuries. The fallout: His parents are now dead against buying him a new bike. “Nearly 15 days back, I was going to meet a friend to get some college notes around 7 p.m. There was huge traffic and a Blueline bus tried to overtake me. My bike fell into a pothole while I was trying to avoid the bus. My helmet saved my head but I hurt my leg and arm badly. The doctor has advised me bed rest for 15 days,” said Jasbir.

Accidents due to potholes usually go unreported but a large number of bikers suffer serious injuries as a result of bad roads. The bike was damaged and Jasbir had to shell out nearly Rs. 6,000 for repair. “The rim got twisted and the indicator was also damaged. I had to pay from my own pocket money as my parents refused. The civic bodies should be made to pay up for such accidents,” added Jasbir.