Bengaluru: A waterlogged pothole on the Whitefield-Varthur Road stretch has allegedly left a 29-year-old Bengaluru woman with a severely injured ankle, emergency plastic surgery and a hospital bill of nearly Rs 1.97 lakh. The woman, Aishani Khanna, has now urged civic authorities to urgently repair the road and prevent similar accidents.

Khanna said the accident occurred on August 20 near Nexus Mall while she was riding an Ola scooter towards Varthur during heavy rain. According to her account, the pothole was submerged under rainwater and was not visible to her. Her scooter plunged into the pothole, throwing her off the vehicle and causing the scooter to land on her left ankle.

The incident has once again brought Bengaluru’s pothole problem and road safety concerns into focus, with political leaders also questioning expenditure on the city’s road infrastructure.

Waterlogged pothole allegedly caused accident

Khanna said she was travelling on the Whitefield-Varthur stretch when she encountered the water-filled pothole during heavy rain. Since the pothole was not marked and was concealed by rainwater, she was unable to anticipate the hazard.

The impact caused serious injuries to her left ankle. She said she suffered deep cuts measuring around 7 to 10 centimetres, with road debris, mud and rainwater entering the wounds.

According to her account, the injuries were severe enough to require emergency treatment. She was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors performed debridement and treated the damaged tissue. She spent five days in hospital following the accident.

Khanna later shared details of the incident on social media, posting photographs from her treatment and highlighting the financial burden caused by the accident.

Medical expenses reach Rs 1.97 lakh

Khanna said her medical expenses had reached Rs 1.97 lakh, with another surgery still pending. The amount includes the treatment following the accident, while she has also faced additional expenses related to travel and continuing medical care.

She is currently recuperating in Lucknow and faces a prolonged recovery, according to reports.

In her social-media appeal, Khanna tagged the Greater Bengaluru Authority and Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, seeking intervention over the condition of the Varthur stretch. She called for the road to be repaired within 15 days.

Khanna has said she is not seeking compensation from the government. Instead, she wants the authorities to be held accountable for maintaining roads in a condition that is safe for commuters.

Woman questions safety of Bengaluru roads

Khanna questioned how many more commuters would have to suffer injuries before dangerous stretches of road were repaired.

She also pointed to the broader condition of roads around Varthur and surrounding areas, saying commuters should be able to expect safe roads after paying taxes.

The incident has resonated with wider concerns over Bengaluru’s road infrastructure, particularly during the monsoon when heavy rain can fill potholes and make them difficult for motorists to identify.

Water-filled potholes can pose a serious risk to two-wheeler riders because their depth and edges are often difficult to judge. A rider travelling at speed may have little time to react when a road defect is hidden beneath rainwater.

BJP questions road spending

The incident also triggered a political response from the Karnataka BJP. The party shared Khanna’s account and criticised the Congress government over the condition of Bengaluru’s roads.

BJP leaders questioned the government’s spending on road infrastructure, particularly in the context of claims that thousands of crores of rupees have been allocated or spent on road works in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya also raised questions over road expenditure after the incident. He referred to the government’s claim that around Rs 5,500 crore had been spent on city roads in recent years and questioned the condition of Bengaluru’s roads despite that expenditure.

Surya also pointed to the announcement of another Rs 8,000 crore for road works and renewed his demand for a white paper explaining how the earlier allocation was utilised. These are political claims and demands from the Opposition and have not been independently established by the reports on Khanna’s accident.

Varthur road condition under scrutiny

The accident has placed the Whitefield-Varthur corridor under renewed scrutiny. The stretch is used by residents and office-goers travelling between residential areas and Bengaluru’s eastern employment hubs.

For two-wheeler users, potholes become particularly dangerous during rain because standing water can conceal their size and depth. The absence of warning signs or barricades can further increase the risk.

Khanna’s case has therefore become another example in the ongoing public debate over whether road repairs are being carried out quickly enough and whether civic agencies are adequately identifying dangerous potholes before they result in accidents.

Reports said that, as of the latest updates, there had been no response from the local MLA or the Greater Bengaluru authorities regarding Khanna’s specific complaint.

Calls for accountability grow

The incident comes at a time when Bengaluru’s civic authorities are facing increasing public scrutiny over road quality, potholes and infrastructure maintenance.

While pothole filling and road repairs are routine civic responsibilities, residents have repeatedly raised concerns about the durability of repairs and the need for better monitoring during the monsoon.

Khanna’s demand is focused not only on repairing the particular stretch where she was injured but also on preventing similar incidents elsewhere. Her experience highlights how a road defect that may appear to be a routine civic issue can result in serious injuries, hospitalisation and significant financial costs for an individual.

For Bengaluru, the incident underlines the need for timely identification of dangerous potholes, proper warning measures during heavy rain and quicker repairs of stretches that pose a known risk to commuters.

As Khanna continues her recovery and awaits another surgery, her case has once again put the city’s road safety and infrastructure maintenance under the spotlight. The focus now remains on whether civic authorities will respond to the complaint and address the reported road hazard.