Journalism of Courage
74% potholes in Bengaluru repaired, only 2,600 left, Karnataka High Court told
Upon GBA’s request, the High Court allowed additional time to file a detailed affidavit as the repair work was still underway.
The GBA said that around 1,02,022 potholes had been identified across Bengaluru till April. (Representational image)
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Friday informed the Karnataka High Court that only around 2,600 of the more than 10,000 potholes identified across Bengaluru’s five city corporations remain to be repaired, indicating that nearly 74 per cent of the identified potholes have been addressed.
However, upon GBA’s request, the bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K S Hemalekha allowed additional time to file a detailed affidavit as the repair work was still underway. The court orally observed that the authority had already been given a final opportunity in July to file its affidavit.
The GBA said that around 1,02,022 potholes had been identified across Bengaluru till April.
In September 2024, the High Court directed the then Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which was later replaced by GBA, to file an affidavit detailing the mechanism it adopts each year to address potholes and keep roads in good condition to ensure smooth pedestrian and vehicular movement.
The direction came while the court was hearing a public interest litigation filed in 2015 by Vijayan Menon and others, seeking directions to fill potholes on Bengaluru’s major and arterial roads and remove encroachments from stormwater drains.
The High Court also orally directed the state government to inform by the next date of hearing on the number of First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in cases of deaths and injuries caused by potholes.
It has posted the matter for further hearing on September 16.
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The sorry state of roads has led to several accidents in the city, with the latest one claiming the life of a 32-year-old Kerala woman riding pillion at Hebbagodi locality. The provident fund office employee was thrown off after her friend, who was riding the two-wheeler, lost control while trying to avoid a pothole. The woman was later run over by a commercial vehicle, killing her on the spot.
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