Bengaluru: A serious mishap was narrowly avoided in Bengaluru this morning after a school bus carrying children almost toppled when it entered a muddy
part on roadside where rainwater was accumulated. The stretch, full of potholes, has been in poor condition for a long time.
Footage from a car’s dashboard camera, driving behind the bus, shows the driver trying to overtake another school bus from the left on Balagere Main Road. During the attempt, the bus, which had around 20 students inside, went slightly off the road. One of its tyres got stuck in the swampy roadside stretch, causing the vehicle to tilt dangerously and nearly fall over.
Locals at the spot quickly rushed forward, opened the emergency exit, and evacuated all the children safely. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Pathetic roads and pathetic judgement from the driver – Balegere rd. How much more should the city crumble before we rise up @GBAoffic @GBAChiefComm @DKShivakumar @bengalurupost1 @Bangalorereal1 @BangaloreRepair @ pic.twitter.com/IohLqp4OiH
— RayOfDoom (@CuriouzCoconut) September 12, 2025
Protests erupt
Soon after, angry residents gathered in protest. Many carried placards reading, “Refund tax, we will build our city.” One resident told NDTV, “This is the only solution left. We pay the highest taxes here. Each flat costs around Rs 2 crore in this area, yet we don’t get proper infrastructure.”
Another resident complained that the road has been neglected for years. “Nothing has been done about the drain. The situation has only become worse over the last three years,” she said.
A third resident added that officials had blocked the road last week, but only repaired a small portion. A student who uses the route daily said, “It is very hard to even tell where the road ends and the pothole begins.”
School kids write to Dy CM DK Shivakumar
Locals also showed a letter written by schoolchildren to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. In the letter, the children highlighted the poor state of the road, saying, “It has made commuting unsafe and very difficult for us.”
Meanwhile, pothole-related tragedies continue elsewhere. On Tuesday, a woman lost her life after her scooter hit a pothole on National Highway-66 near Kulur in Mangaluru. CCTV footage showed that after hitting the pothole, she fell and was run over by a lorry. The victim, Madhavi from Udupi, was on her way to work. Locals claimed that this was the fifth death caused by the same pothole.
