Bengalureans fill potholes on their own, set example

As BBMP rushes to meet the high court’s deadline to fill potholes in the city, there are some Bengalureans who have taken it upon themselves to ensure motorable roads.

One such person is Dr Sunil Kumar Hebbi who has filled over 20 potholes on Sarjapur Road in the past few months. A small accident on the way to work inspired him to take action with the help of his friends.

Hebbi told DH, “A few months back, I had a minor accident wherein the bumper of my car came off owing to the big jerk caused by a pothole. I ended up spending Rs 4,000 to get it repaired. The money that I spent for repairs could have been used to repair a pothole to help others and thus I started doing that.”

Hebbi, along with his friends, meets once a week to fill potholes. During the course of the week, they identify potholes to be filled. Following this, they spend two hours over a weekend and fill them using the materials they are able to source.

“It only takes a few dedicated minutes to fix a pothole. One can fill a pothole using gravel, sand and cement,” he adds.

In another initiative, Prashanth Maruru, an employee at an engineering college started a pothole challenge after fixing a pothole near his house. He shared his story on social media and tagged his friends to follow suit.

“I drive a two-wheeler and have faced the perils of potholes in the city. Potholes are one of the major reasons for accidents in the city,” says Maruru.

Maruru adds, “It does not take much to fill a pothole. Using simple available material like gravel, sand an cement, one can fill a pothole. It did not cost me much to fill a pothole. Imagine if everyone takes up this task, the city’s roads will soon be pothole-free.”

It is not just residents, but even companies have included pothole filling as part of their CSR initiatives wherein they have joined hands with ‘Pothole Raja’ (Prathap Bhimasena Rao) to fill potholes near their premises.