Thread by @manasipkumar

Yesterday I tweeted on b’lore’s shabby #infrastructure that killed a 22 yo. Today I write about what happens if you survive an accident on B’lore roads. My story. Of 2 accidents & 2 surgeries. In 2 years. See the pictures below? That’s my leg that I have to live with bcos of bbmp twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Ironically I was walking & cycling both times I fell. Was a big believer in sustainable mobility. Now? Am not sure. I share this story to highlight two issues - money & mental health that shatter because of bad infrastructure. Statistics can only give you numbers. I am the face.

It has cost me an upward of 6 lakhs, had me bedridden for a year and almost broke me mentally to survive it. I worked in the field of journalism and this injury almost forced me to give it up. I have paid for bad roads and footpaths with my taxes and then my health and my mind.

Let’s start at the beginning. In Feb 2020, I put my foot on what I presumed was solid ground at a dug up footpath, slipped and did a leg split that would have made a Russian gymnast proud. Ended up with a grade three MCL tear. This was on 80 feet road Indiranagar

For the uninformed, MCL is that ligament that keeps your knee in place. To cut the long story short, I underwent ligament reconstruction surgery and was confined to the bed for three months. I had just about started my physio when the 1st lockdown happen.

Boom! That put paid to anyone coming to help me medically. I lived on the second floor without a lift so was effectively living the life of Rapunzela without her hair. Couldn’t even work much. But let me breakdown the cost.

My surgery cost me ₹ 1.3 lakhs. Every time I had to be taken to the hospital, I had to get me a stretcher because I couldn’t walk. That ambulance cost ₹2000 every time. Which was about 4 times. Also add ₹500 to the two guys who carried me down. Every time.

I needed a live in help for the first month because I couldn’t move at all. She cost ₹20,000 a month. Asked her to leave after a month because she started to drop hints about all the unsavoury guys she knew. I couldn’t even run in case she caused trouble. My Walker was my bestie

My physio therapy cost me ₹600 for every session, five times a week. But during lockdown nobody come to help. My knee stiffened up and I couldn’t bend it. I had to go to a specialist for this when places opened. It cost me ₹13000 every month. This went on for about six months.

It took almost a year to get back on my feet but... In December 2021, I was cycling one early morning near cubbon park when I fell to avoid hitting a pedestrian who almost tripped on a uneven footpath. Broke my leg in four places. They called multiple compressed fracture.

I was bed ridden for almost eight months to allow the 2 rods and 21 screws they used in my leg to settle down. I couldn’t walk without support. I couldn’t go to the bathroom without help. By then I was exhausted.

But I had to start my physio. This time it cost me ₹20,000 per month. My live in help cost ₹20,000 per month. A month after I came home, I was diagnosed with COVID! I hadn’t stepped out. I couldn’t. But the virus found me.

I stopped everything after three months because I was exhausted. Mentally, I hit a wall and couldn’t fight anymore. I couldn’t write. I couldn’t think. I gave up. 2022 was a year where life stopped for me. But it wasn’t over for me.

I went into the hospital again in June 2022 because of a serious kidney infection because I reduced my water intake after my surgery. Going to the bathroom was a nightmare, so I did this instead. Doesn’t work so well when you are on blood thinners. This stay cost me ₹60,000.

Statistics tell us that road accidents and injuries cost india about 3% of its GDP. It accounts for reduced income increased medical costs et al.I don’t understand % and economic terms very well.I gave you a gist of what I have spent over the last 3 years all because of bad roads

I am grateful for being in a position of privilege where I managed to pay for all of this without having incurring debt which I couldn’t payback. I am still undergoing physio. But It is traumatic to step onto the street now. For someone who had wheels for her feet, it killed me.

But what happens to those who can’t afford it? We all use the same shoddy infrastructure afterall - rich and poor. To be vulnerable on Bangalore roads comes at a very heavy price. And not all of us can manage it.I went from living it up to barely getting through. Who compensates?

Shoddy urban infrastructure creates a stress on our healthcare system.We don’t have access to quality universal healthcare.What of the poor? And to live with the repercussions of engineering incompetence for the rest of my life which has changed my quality of life irreversibly...