Meet the real life hero:: Dadarao Bilhore

Delhi: Eight years ago, the 53-year-old lost his 16-year-old son Prakash, when his bike hit a pothole on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, in Andheri, near Gate number 3.

Since his son’s death, Bilhore vowed to take matters into own his hands. He said, filling the potholes with sand and debris, so that others do not meet Prakash’s fate, was akin “to filling the void that he left behind”.

“I started out in August 2015, to help deal with my own grief and keep my son’s memory alive,” said Bilhore

Potholes are not a rare sight in the bustling city of Mumbai, but Dadarao Bilhore’s mission is to make it a rarity.He began his journey filling up a pothole outside his shop, and then in his area and continued doing so as and when he spotted one. Dadarao also mentioned how people from all walks of life are lending their support, “Doctors and engineers are joining hands with me,” he said.

Reiterating that filling potholes is possible even without any support from the government, he wants more people to join him in his mission to make not just Mumbai, but the entire country pothole-free. “I have taken up the mission to fill potholes. I won’t rest until I complete my mission. With a population of 1.15 crore, even if one lakh step up to fill potholes, India can become pothole-free,”Using sand and gravel collected from building sites and other material, Bilhore has filled 1500+ potholes till date.