• Potholes are a major cause for accidental deaths and between 2013 and 2016, official statistics says that 11,836 deaths due to it in India.
  • Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have the dubious distinction for consistently causing potholes related accidents.
  • Significantly, pothole related deaths peak during monsoons and ironically.
  • While cases are to be booked against contractors (or officials) for poor roads, police reports often blame the victim for „negligence driving‟.
  • The Indian Road Congress has prescribed over 100 sets of guidelines to ensure standardised road construction, maintenance and management.
  • The challenge lies in ensuring that these guidelines are implemented and no complying contractors and officials are brought to book.
  • The absence of a unified law on road construction, engineering and maintenance is making it hard to implement these guidelines.