Bengaluru woman dies a month after crash as GBA-traffic police coordination comes under scrutiny

A 57-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday after battling for her life for a month following a collision with a minibus on HMT Main Road in north Bengaluru.

The incident has raised questions about coordination between the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) and the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s (GBA) new corporations, as the accident spot required a speed breaker and residents had written to officials much earlier, highlighting vulnerable stretches of the road.

The deceased has been identified as Vijayalakshmi, a resident of HMT Quarters in the same area. On September 30, she was crossing HMT Main Road, which connects to NASIN Circle, when a minibus hit her. CCTV footage of the accident shows her being flung into the air before suffering a grievous fall that left her with multiple injuries, including a head injury. She succumbed to her injuries on October 28.

Deepali J., a resident of the same locality, told The Hindu that they had written to the local traffic police station well before the crash, warning that the spot was vulnerable to accidents. “The vehicles on the stretch move at high speed and at least near the crossroads; there is a need for speed breakers,” she said.

Missing coordination

According to BTP sources, soon after the crash, they identified a pattern that revealed that the stretch had witnessed nearly seven accidents in a period of over a year. BTP sources said they had sent a letter to the GBA, while corporation officials said they had not received any such request.

Typically, the BTP identifies vulnerable spots and requirements such as lane markings, footpath bollards, and other pedestrian infrastructure. Under the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the Traffic Engineering Cell (TEC) used to coordinate with the BTP and initiate the necessary works.

A senior police officer said that, under the new GBA setup, the police send proposals to the Traffic Management Centre (TMC), which forwards them to the GBA. The proposals are then sent to the respective corporations. However, the hierarchical movement of files leads to delays, even though such minor works require coordination among officers at the ground level.

A senior GBA official told The Hindu that the new corporations also have TECs, but they are primarily focusing on skywalks, while the general section oversees lane markings and speed breakers. The official acknowledged that a shortage of assistant executive engineers across the corporations had hampered the pace of some work, as multiple responsibilities are being assigned to junior engineers.

Need for audit

Bengaluru has about 66 accident blackspots, according to BTP sources. While even these spots are awaiting fixes, several traffic pattern monitoring volunteers point out that residential roads have also become accident-prone, warranting an audit.

Prasanna Bhat, a traffic volunteer, said accidents had become increasingly common on residential roads where two roads intersect perpendicularly. “There is a dire need for an audit of such stretches by either the BTP or the civic body. The problem may appear smaller, but there have been multiple minor accidents in the past,” he stressed

Published - October 29, 2026 07:05 pm IST