Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Sep 10: The people of Mangaluru are once again raising their voices—voices filled with pain, frustration, and a desperate plea for accountability. Time and again, potholes on city roads have claimed innocent lives, yet the administration seems to wait for another tragedy before taking action.
If not now, then when?
Mangaluru cannot afford to lose more lives to negligence. It is time to raise voices—loud, clear, and relentless.
Year after year, lives are lost in Mangaluru due to the continued negligence of the NHAI, concerned authorities, and road contractors.
Tragic incidents over the years serve as painful reminders:
• Aathish – 2022, Bikarnakatte
• Titus Ferrao – 2023, Baikampady
• Ashraf – June 2025, Surathkal
• Madhavi – Kulur
Just a few days ago in Nanthoor, a two-wheeler rider miraculously escaped death after falling into a pothole. The alertness of a nearby bus driver prevented a major tragedy.
On August 13, a food delivery rider fell at the same spot where Madhavi lost her life. Yet no preventive measures were taken either before or after the incident. Only after Madhavi’s death did the contractor rush to the spot to patch the road. It is disheartening that it takes a fatality for any maintenance work to happen. Even after the Nanthoor incident, only the specific pothole where the rider fell was patched, while numerous others in the area remain ignored.
For years, Daijiworld has consistently highlighted the dangers of potholes through numerous reports and appeals, urging the authorities to act before lives are lost. Sadly, most corrective action continues to come only after public outrage or a fatal incident.
Every time auto drivers, police officers, or even children take the initiative to fill potholes, it exposes the negligence of authorities like the MCC and NHAI, leaving them embarrassed.
Just two days ago, four children stepped up to fill a pothole near Bunts Hostel. Their action came shortly after an online debate and public outrage over the MCC’s inaction. Only then did the MCC respond by installing interlock tiles at the very spot where the children had taken matters into their own hands.
It has now become a pattern—unless citizens, whether auto drivers, police, or children, take the first step, the authorities fail to act on their own.
List of dangerous pothole-prone areas in Mangaluru:
• Kankanady – Pumpwell Road
• Maroli – Padil
• KPT Junction
• Opposite Padua School
• Bendoorwell
• Nanthoor Circle
• Surathkal – Kulur Stretch
• Airport Road – Maravoor
These roads pose a serious risk to daily commuters, especially two-wheeler riders. How many more lives need to be lost before the authorities take comprehensive and lasting action?