NEW DELHI: Potholes claimed 9,438 lives over five years, from 2020 to 2024, according to govt data. Uttar Pradesh alone reported 5,127 of these fatalities, more than half of all pothole-related deaths, while more than half a dozen states and UTs, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, and Chandigarh, reported “zero” road crashes, injuries, or deaths under this category, raising questions about how police record such data.In a detailed response on pothole-related crashes, deaths and injuries, the road transport ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday the overall number of fatalities have consistently increased from 1,555 in 2020 (Covid-19 year) to 2,385 in 2024, a rise of over 53%. As per the data, Madhya Pradesh recorded second-highest pothole-related deaths at 969 in these five years, followed by Tamil Nadu (612), Odisha (425), Punjab (414) and Assam (395).Among the UTs, Delhi registered a maximum of 50 such fatalities. The road accident data of 2025 has not yet been published. “It’s surprising that while states like Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura have registered accidents and deaths due to potholes, there was not a single accident due to such road conditions in bigger states like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar that have longer road network. Until we have objective reporting of road crashes and their reasons, the data won’t reflect the exact cause for taking corrective measures,” said an expert who has been involved in crash data investigation.The published reports on road crashes by the transport ministry show that the overall pothole deaths reduced after 2017 when such fatalities reached 3,597. The Supreme Court, in 2018, had directed authorities to take immediate action taking suo motu cognisance of a TOI report “Potholes killed 3,597 across India in 2017, terror 803”.The court had observed, “it is a matter of common knowledge that a large number of people have died in accidents caused due to potholes on roads and authorities, who are supposed to maintain the roads, are not doing their duties properly.”
