Untended pothole on city road claims a life

Chennai: A 45-year-old man from Mandaveli died on Monday after reportedly falling into an unfilled pothole containing stagnant rainwater on Mandaveli Street.

This is not the first time that the City Corporation is running into controversy as the civic authorities were blamed in a similar episode in T.Nagar in 2011, when a 24-year-old woman was found dead in an under-construction storm water drain.

The victim, Gunasekaran, a resident of Mosque street, was walking along the road at around 11.45 pm to have tea when the fatal incident happened.  According to J.Manikandan, a resident of the locality, the victim’s feet got stuck in the pothole and he suffered a fall sustaining injuries on his forehead and chest.

Within a few minutes, the man died even while he was being taken to the hospital. Mylapore police moved the body to Government Royapettah Hospital for post mortem.

Gunasekaran runs a flour mill on Mosque street, police said. Mylapore police have registered a case under section 174 of CrPC (suspicious death). When asked, a police official said the man fainted and suffered a cardiac arrest.

However, post the incident, the local councillor and corporation officials visited the area and did a temporary patchwork filling the pothole with gravel, locals said. “The councillor, Chandrika promised of immediate action relaying the road,” J. Manikandan said. Corporation officials were unavailable for comment.