BENGALURU: The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), which has stated repeatedly that it has filled thousands of potholes across the city, came under severe criticism after an IT firm employee suffered a shoulder injury when his scooter landed in a pothole. Sridhar Mudooru was injured on CDP Road connecting Varthur-Panathur road in Mahadevapura Assembly constituency on January 12.
Mudooru told TNIE that he has suffered a severe fracture and doctors have told him to undergo a surgery costing over Rs 1.25 lakh. He also needs to rest for a month, while full recovery will take over six months. “I pass the Outer Ring Road (ORR) every day for work, and this stretch has not been repaired for several months. Had the authorities fixed it, the accident would not have happened. Besides losing money, I also have to bear the pain of this fracture, for no fault of mine,” he said.
Taking note of his accident, the TejaVeera Yodhas, a volunteer organisation, comprising residents from the IT belt, like Balagere, Panathur and Varthur, announced that a massive protest will be held demanding that the stretch be fixed. The organisation, led by Swetha Rangaswamy, appealed to all residents to take part in the citizen-led cleaning drive on the Balagere-Varthur-Gunjur road.
Citizen activist Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar said that anyone injured in an accident because of a bad road can file a case. “The injured can approach the jurisdictional police station and file a complaint, stating that the accident occurred due to the negligence in maintaining the road (potholes, open drains, unmarked excavations, etc.), register an FIR under Sections 279 (if any vehicle was involved), 338 (grievous hurt) or 337 (simple injury) of IPC against unknown persons.”
He said, “The police often hesitate to name the municipal corporation or officials directly in the FIR, but they must record the complaint and the condition of the road. Municipal officials can be proceeded against if the road condition was dangerous and known, and there was a failure to repair, barricade, or warn, amounting to criminal negligence. A municipal body can be made a respondent for negligence and made to pay compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, pain, and suffering.”
Executive Engineer, Marathahalli division, Uday Chougle, said there are no potholes in his jurisdiction, and the road where the accident occurred comes under the Whitefield division, which is looked after by Executive Engineer Raghavendra. However, Raghavendra was not available for comment.