A school bus carrying nearly 20 children fell into a pothole on the Balagere–Panathur Road in Bengaluru on Friday morning. The students were evacuated from the bus through the emergency exit. Fortunately, no casualties were reported as the bus got stranded in the pothole while it was moving in slow traffic.
A shocking video of the incident has surfaced on social media, showing the exact moment when the bus tilted dangerously after a wheel sank into a deep pothole filled with muddy rainwater.
After the incident, some children were taken to school in another bus, while others were taken by bystanders.
Locals blamed the authorities for the incident, saying that despite repeated complaints about the potholes and incomplete drains, no action was taken to improve the condition of the road.
They also claimed that earlier this year, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself had inspected the road, but that did not change anything on the ground.
According to reports, the drains dug along the road have been left incomplete for some time, with no proper outflow towards the rajakaluve. It has become an annual story that during monsoon season, the roads get riddled with potholes, and rainwater fills these potholes. It becomes increasingly difficult for motorists to identify whether it is just a puddle or a deep ditch.
Notably, a few days ago, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had acknowledged that the city has around 10,000 potholes, revealing the condition of roads in the IT capital of the country.
These potholes, ignored by authorities, have been causing accidents in the city, sometimes even claiming the lives of travelers. Recently, a 44-year-old Mangluru woman died after her two-wheeler toppled into a pothole on National Highway 66 near Kulur.
The woman died on the spot after being crushed by a moving lorry.
