BENGALURU : The city’s chronic pothole problem has finally prodded a doctor to fix the ailing roads. Armed with a band of people, who are his former indebted patients, the good doctor has begun doing the rounds of roads that need an urgent fix. Dr Sunil Kumar Hebbi, 33, who had already earned goodwill with his mobile clinic that offers affordable treatment, took up this new mission out of frustration. Dr Hebbi says he was fed up with the apathy of local leaders and civic bodies towards curing the ‘disease’ of potholes afflicting the city roads. So he decided to fix it himself. Armed with shovels and headpans, Dr Hebbi started his “treatment” on the pothole-ridden Sarjapur Road.
On Sunday, while many others turned a blind eye to the condition of a stretch of road near Yamare, this medical professional—who hails from Vijayapura—decided to fill these with mud. Having witnessed accidents on a daily basis while commuting on this stretch, Dr Hebbi thought the stretch had to be repaired, at least temporarily.
Dr Hebbi went live on Facebook with the videos of him filling potholes, which received good response. He said locals have now offered to help him to continue the initiative. So far, eight potholes have been filled. He told The New Indian Express on Monday, “The condition of this stretch of road has remained miserable for nearly three months now. It was asphalted about a month ago, but the road is back to its former condition.”
Dr Hebbi, who saw no hope in the apathetic local authorities, said he sought help from his former patients to have material arranged for him and he set about carrying out the task of filling potholes.
“We have now filled eight potholes on the road. Seeing this, 10 others have volunteered to join hands with us. We have identified 16 other big potholes that would be filled this week,” he said.Interestingly, one of the live videos captured an accident occurring in the background even as Dr Hebbi was filling the potholes. A two-wheeler rider had a fall on this stretch of road due to a pothole.
MOBILE CLINIC
Believing that there are many who are unable to afford medical treatment, this doctor has been appreciated in the past for his initiative of starting a mobile clinic. He has converted a car into a mobile clinic which houses all the equipment that a general clinic would require. “We have 350 volunteers with us for this. We travel around the city providing primary treatment at affordable costs,” he said.