India Pothole Deaths Rise 53%
Analysis based on 7 articles · First reported Feb 13, 2026 · Last updated Feb 14, 2026
The significant rise in pothole-related deaths in India, particularly in India — Uttar Pradesh, highlights a critical infrastructure deficit that could impact investment in road development and maintenance. This ongoing issue may lead to increased public pressure on the government of India and state governments to allocate more funds towards road safety and repairs, potentially affecting budget priorities and the construction industry.
Pothole-related road deaths in India increased by 53% between 2020 and 2024, resulting in 9,438 fatalities nationwide. India — Uttar Pradesh was the worst-affected state, accounting for over 54% of these deaths, with 5,127 reported during the period. Other significantly affected states include India — Madhya Pradesh (969 deaths), India — Tamil Nadu (612 deaths), and India — Punjab, India (414 deaths). Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed Parliament that while the Centre is responsible for National Highways, state governments manage roads within their jurisdictions. The data, compiled from state police reports, also revealed 23,056 pothole-related accidents and 19,956 injuries, with 9,670 classified as grievous. States like India — Andhra Pradesh, India — Bihar, and India — Goa reported no pothole-related accidents or fatalities.
Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.
Open Dashboard