The Supreme Court was shocked when it heard that potholes killed almost 3,600 persons in 2017 and expressed that the situation was “frightening”.

The data was revealed by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH).

A Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur was astonished to hear that some states are disputing the fact that potholes have led to accidental deaths on roads across the country.

The states have contended that the MoRTH data has not been verified by their respective transport departments. “We are surprised that the state governments have disputed the data sent by them to the MoRTH,” Justice Lokur observed orally.

Earlier, in July 2018, the Supreme Court had taken cognizance of reports quoting official data showing that pothole-related accidents claimed 3,597 lives in 2017, compared to 803 lives taken in all terror attacks in the same year.

“How can the states say that they cannot maintain the roads? Why they are giving money to the contractors for roads if they have no money to maintain the roads? Will they demolish all the roads,” the Bench asked.