MBVV sees four-fold rise in road accident fatalities this year

Poor traffic management, lack of enforcement of traffic rules, and bad roads have led to an increase in crash-related deaths in the Mira Bhayandar ? Vasai Virar (MBVV) region. So far in 2023, there have been 98 deaths compared to 22 deaths in the whole of 2022. Many residents blame the poor traffic management and bad roads for the accidents. Additionally, the lack of CCTV cameras and the non-functioning of many installed cameras has made it difficult for the police to identify hit and run offenders.

Strap: Poor traffic management, lack of enforcement of traffic rules, bad roads lead to increase in crash-related deaths

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MUMBAI: After battling for her life for two months following a road accident, Snehal Pareira, a 32-year-old nurse from Tehriwadi, Vasai West, succumbed to her injuries on July 24.

A mother of two, Snehal was riding her scooter to reach Janseva Hospital, where she worked, when a speeding tempo hit her near D-Mart at Babhola Naka in Vasai West.

According to Onil Almeida, Snehal’s neighbour and the director of Bassein Catholic Bank, while Snehal was not wearing a helmet, the tempo driver was speeding, which led to the accident.

On July 10, after filling petrol in their two-wheeler at Fatherwadi in Vasai East, two brothers were making their way to the highway when a speeding car hit them and flung them in the air, and they landed several feet away.

The brothers suffered severe injuries, but the car driver fled the spot without bothering to check on them. One of the injured, Prasad Prajapati, 28, succumbed to his injuries at Platinum Hospital last Saturday.

The Waliv police said that the car driver, identified as Arun Shrivastav, 32, had been drinking with a friend at a dhaaba on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway till early morning and was heading to his house in Vasai West when the knocked down the two-wheeler.

These are not isolated incidents. Speeding and drunk driving are two of the many reasons behind an increase in the number road accidents in Mira Bhayandar – Vasai Virar (MBVV) region this year. The fatalities so far in 2023 already see a four-fold increase compared to the previous year.

This year so far, 98 people have been killed in road accidents in the MBVV region as compared to 22 deaths reported in the whole of 2022.

Helmets no compulsion

Almeida is fighting to get compensation for Snehal’s children, a three-year-old and a five-year-old. Many residents of the area blame the poor traffic management in the MBVV and bad condition of roads for the increase in the number of accidents.

Shivpratap Somvanshi, from Parivatan, an NGO, said, “It’s the responsibility of the traffic police to impose the mandatory requirement of helmets while riding two wheelers. This, however, does not happen anywhere in MBVV,” said Somvanshi.

His NGO had last year distributed 550 helmets to bikers in Nalasopara, but has subsequently observed that none of those people who were given helmets have used them.

Somvanshi said that last week they had organised an eye checkup camp at the Chinchoti police chowkie along the highway for the police officers and drivers.

“Out of the 64 checkups we found that at least 10 had cataract but were still driving trucks and autos which can be dangerous,” he added.

Vilas Barve, senior police inspector of Waliv police station, says that a helmet can be the difference between life and death in road accidents. He said had Prajapati brothers been wearing helmets, the victim could have been saved.

“Unlike everywhere else, there is no compulsion to wear a helmet in MBVV as the rules are not enforced. As the riders are not penalised by the traffic police, they don’t feel the need to wear helmets and more lives are lost,” said another police officer from Waliv police station.

Prakash Gaikwad, deputy commissioner of police (administration and traffic) of MBVV police, said that realising that the number of accidents has gone up, they have installed high-definition CCTV cameras across the region two weeks ago and have started sending e-challans to traffic offenders.

“This will help in curbing accidents as we will be able to penalise violators for speeding, drunk driving, helmetless riding, wrong side driving which are major causes of fatal accidents,” said Gaikwad.

“Poor condition of the roads is equally responsible for several accidents in MBVV region for which we have written to the municipal corporation to repair the roads as soon as possible,” added Gaikwad.

Ramesh Manale, additional commissioner of Vasai-Virar municipal Corporation said, “Due to heavy rains and flooding, repair of the roads can be done only after the monsoon season.”

Lack of CCTV cameras

Earlier, fewer CCTV cameras and the non-functioning of many of those installed had made it difficult for the police to nab, hit and run accused.

After 21-year-old Rohit Yadav was beaten to death by three men in a road rage case on Nalasopara bridge, the Tulinj police took at least 24 hours to trace the accused as the CCTV cameras installed on the bridge were not working.

“We have to depend on private shops and buildings for recordings in solving crimes, if the cameras are not installed by the civic administration to cover an entire road or stretch. It also increases our workload,” said an officer from Vasai crime branch.

“At times, we must go through footage of scores of private cameras instead of one government installed camera, which is strategically placed to cover an entire road, to track the offenders,” added the officer.

“Many of the cameras which were installed by private citizens on major junctions of MBVV were removed by the municipal corporation for beautification.

There were 4,024 CCTV cameras in the region which were installed by private citizens and only 170 cameras were installed by the civic administration and at least 50% of those are not working at any given point of time,” said the officer.

“Now we have written to the District Planning Development Committee (DPDC) and asked for cameras to be installed on 1,632 important junctions and highway points and have also submitted a proposal for cameras at 251 additional points,” he added.