Meet The Pothole Terminator
On July 28, 2015, Dadarao Bilhore faced every parent’s worst nightmare. His 16-year-old son had lost his life when he met with an accident because of a pothole on Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) in Mumbai. Shattered by the death of his only son, he took upon himself to fill every pothole he could.
Prakash, Dadarao’s son, died after his bike fell into a deep pothole on the rainwater-clogged Link Road. Despite repeated visits to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), he didn’t see enough efforts being made to address the issue. So he got down to work with a kit that included paver blocks, a trowel, and construction sand. He is often joined by Prakash’s friends and random strangers on the road who take note of what he is doing.
In a conversation with ANI, he said:
“I don’t want people to face the same fate as my son, Prakash. I will keep working till India becomes pothole-free. Our nation has a huge population. If even one lakh people start filling potholes, India will become pothole-free. I am tired, but I will not stop.”
The 47-year-old has also created a mobile app called Spothole, which crowd sources the assistance of fellow citizens to locate potholes and resolve the issue. He added that most of the times they use mud, debris and paver blocks found at construction sites.
In just July this year, after Mumbai suffered severe monsoon downpours, the recorded six deaths. Overall, the country has seen 3,600 people die due to potholes in 2017. Uttar Pradesh, however, tops the list with 987 deaths, says a report by Times Of India. According to a nation-wide survey, 10 people died due to potholes every day.
Bilhore has been fighting one more battle with the authorities. He had filed an FIR against the BMC officials and the contractor for the construction of a poor quality road. The perpetrators are out on bail and Bilhore hasn’t even received any compensation.
Amid this apathy by the powers-that-be, the tragic and yet inspiring story of Dadarao Bilhore stands out as an example of how even one man can make a powerful difference.
Watch Ketto’s video on Bilhore’s struggle below
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