Taking strong note of pothole deaths in the country, the Supreme Court on Thursday said the large number of deaths caused due to potholes in the last five years was more than those killed on border or by the terrorists.
 
Expressing concern over 14,926 deaths, the top court bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said it was "unacceptable".
 
The bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Hemant Gupta, said the number of deaths from 2013 to 2017 in accidents due to potholes indicated that the authorities concerned were not  maintaining the roads.
 
"The large number of deaths caused due to potholes is unacceptable and probably more than those killed on border or by the terrorists," the bench said today.
 
The bench sought a response from the Centre on the report filed by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, headed by former apex court judge Justice K S Radhakrishnan.
 
The bench has posted the matter for further hearing in January.