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Photos: Mumbai’s ‘pothole dada’ honours a son’s memory repaving craters
Dadarao Bilhore a 48-year-old vegetable vendor, smoothes the road surface, rests his shovel, looks to the sky and prays for his son, one of thousands of Indians killed every year in accidents caused by potholes. Prakash Bilhore, was just 16 when he died in July 2015 in Mumbai. To help deal with his grief, Prakash's devastated father decided he would do something about Mumbai's roads. Using sand and gravel collected from building sites, Bilhore has filled in almost 600 potholes across Mumbai in the past three years and is determined to continue his work until his last breath.
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Dadarao Bilhore fills up a pothole on the Western Express highway in Mumbai. The 48-year-old vegetable vendor does it to pay tribute to his son and in the hope that it will save lives. “Prakash’s sudden death left a huge void in our lives. I do this work to remember and honour him. “I also don’t want anyone else to lose a loved one like we have,” Bilhore told AFP. (Indranil Mukherjee / AFP)
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Commuters walks past potholes at Bandra station bus stop. Prakash Bilhore was travelling pillion when the motorbike he was on with his cousin hit a deep pothole, sending them both flying through the air. Prakash, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, suffered fatal brain damage. The tragic accident occurred during Mumbai’s summer monsoon when heavy rains are blamed for causing crater-like holes. (Prabhat Mehrotra / HT File)
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A girl walks past a pothole at Kalmboli in Navi Mumbai. Potholes are so common that a campaign is under way to have Mumbai featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the city with the most potholes. Navin Lade, a resident, claims to have recorded more than 27,000 holes on his website, although local officials dispute his findings. (Bachchan Kumar / HT File)
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Government statistics show that potholes were responsible for the deaths of 3,597 people across India last year, an average of 10 a day. Citizens blame government apathy, accusing local authorities of failing to maintain roads properly while activists said contractors hired to repave roads do a bad job on purpose so the work will need to be done again the following year. (Satish Bate / HT File)
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Bilhore carries a sack filled with building materials to fill up a pothole. Shattered by the sudden demise of his son, Bilhore is determined to keep working till India becomes pothole-free so that no one else has to ever face the fate as his son. In the last three years, using sand and gravel collected from building sites, Bilhore has filled in almost 600 potholes across Mumbai. (Indranil Mukherjee / AFP)
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“The government needs to take responsibility and create better infrastructure,” urges Bilhore. He said that he has repaired 585 potholes, many of them alone; others with the help of volunteers who are inspired by his story. Bilhore has been featured in various articles and received several awards, earning him the nickname “pothole dada.” (Indranil Mukherjee / AFP)
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