In June this year, National Highway 227 that goes through Bihar's Madhubani made headlines due it's pond sized potholes. According to the reports, the road has been in a completely dilapidated condition since 2015. Not just National Highways, almost every Indian road is suffering from this problem. The potholes not just result in water clogging during rain but also cause traffic chaos that leads to increased travel time for the commuters. However, authorities often fail to address or do very little to solve this issue. Often, rain is cited as the main reason for formation of potholes, however, the inefficiency in road construction is the major cause behind it. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau's district wise inspection in Kerala state revealed that many roads have been made without using enough tar.

Recently, a miffed Bengaluru citizens geo-tagged a pothole as a historical landmark to draw the attention of the authorities. The situation seems highlights the inefficiency of the authorities to fix the problem over the years even after spending crores on money on road maintenance. The problem of potholes is now rapidly turning the Indian roads into death traps. According to the latest government data, road accidents caused by potholes led to the death of 5,626 people between 2018 and 2020. As per investigation, the potholes on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai national highway was one of the major causes of Cyrus Mistry's death.

To ensure pothole-free and better maintained roads, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari suggests states to take up White topping technique which is said to considerably reduce the maintenance costs incurred on roads. However, the successful implementation of this highly depends on the local authorities.

Are there potholes on the roads of your city? How much your city spends on the maintenance of the roads?

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