Video: Bengaluru School Van Stuck In Open Drain As Civic Mess Continues

A video reveals a school minivan's tyre caught in an open drain

Bengaluru:

Another case of civic disrepair in Bengaluru unfolded this morning when a school minivan became trapped in an exposed drain. The incident occurred along the Panathur-Bellandur route while the vehicle was transporting students to a school in Doddanekundi.

Footage shows the minivan with one wheel lodged in the drain while students remained inside. Fortunately, no injuries were reported during the incident.

School officials are currently examining whether the driver bears responsibility for the accident.

Just last week, a school bus carrying children nearly overturned after sliding into mud on a Bengaluru road that has long been deteriorating and riddled with potholes.

Dashboard camera footage from a vehicle behind captured the driver attempting to overtake another school bus from the left side on Balagere Main Road. During this maneuver, the vehicle carrying approximately 20 students drifted slightly off the roadway, causing one tyre to sink into soft ground. The bus tilted precariously and almost flipped onto its side.

Local residents quickly responded to the scene and opened the emergency exit to safely evacuate all children onboard. Neither students nor the driver sustained injuries in this incident.

Many community members organized a substantial protest, displaying signs that read "refund tax, we will build our city."

"That's our only recourse because we pay the highest tax rates. Each apartment in this area costs approximately Rs 2 crore. Yet we aren't receiving the infrastructure we deserve," one resident explained to NDTV.

Another resident mentioned that the road has remained in this condition "forever."

Congress Faces Criticism For Poor Condition Of Roads

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Congress government is receiving criticism regarding Bengaluru's deteriorating roadways.

Recently, a logistics company CEO announced their decision to relocate their office away from the city's Outer Ring Road due to potholes and traffic congestion.

"ORR (Bellandur) has been our 'office + home' for the last 9 years. But it's now very-very hard to continue here. We have decided to move out," Rajesh Yabaji, CEO and co-founder of logistics firm BlackBuck, posted on X on Tuesday.

Explaining the rationale behind this decision, he stated, "Average commute for my colleagues shot up to 1.5+ hrs (one way). Roads full of potholes and dust, coupled with the lowest intent to get them rectified. Didn't see any of this changing in the next 5 years."

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, however, maintains that Bengaluru is experiencing rapid growth, and the Karnataka government will ensure no company departs the IT hub due to infrastructure-related concerns.

In Thursday's conversation with NDTV, Mr. Shivakumar, who serves as minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning, acknowledged that the city "has become too big, so more needs to be done."

"To address these demands, we established five corporations. And for larger projects, we decided to introduce the Greater Bengaluru Authority," he explained.

Mr. Shivakumar noted that numerous areas housing the "IT crowd" - referring to technology workers - remain under panchayat jurisdiction rather than Greater Bengaluru Authority oversight, which complicates civic response. "We're working to incorporate them into GBA. There are significant challenges, and we've formed a dedicated corporation for this region to resolve these issues."