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Narhe trap on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway claims 4 more lives
Two accidents along the Narhe (Pune) stretch of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway claimed four lives in two days, taking the eight-year death toll on the 3km stretch to 56
PUNE: Two accidents along the Narhe (Pune) stretch of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway claimed four lives in two days, taking the eight-year death toll on the 3km stretch to 56.
On Friday night, a tanker carrying inflammable liquid fell on its right side; hitting a Tata Harrier, a 13-seater tempo, and a container in quick succession. The fumes could be felt hours later as the charred remains were absorbed into the soft mud shoulder of the highway.
Senior police inspector Devidas Gheware of Sinhagad road police station recalled, “The tanker first fell on its right side and came down and hit the Tata Harrier, next hitting the 13-seater tempo which also fell on its side upon impact, and then the container. Our priority was to save the people and then clear the traffic. Panic spread and everyone started saying that there were people trapped under it.”
The deceased were identified as Amar Gade and Kompotarkumar Santalal Chamar; while the injured were identified as Ganesh Gujar, Rajvardhan Patil, Chandan Pardhi, Samrat Bhide, Akash Pawar, Shekhar Kadam, Prashant Suryavanshi and Amrut Jadhav, according to the police. They are all undergoing treatment at various hospitals. Five others identified as Karuna More, Shailesh Patil, Amar Salunkhe, Shubham Dhawalia and Kanchar Katakram escaped with minor injuries. A team from an NGO that conducts research on road safety was present at the site in jackets, and claimed that they are working in association with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
A day before the Friday mishap, two persons were killed and two others injured in an accident just 50 to 70 metre away from the same spot. A container truck started hurtling down the slope, sweeping along with it a motorcycle near which the two deceased persons were waiting, according to the police. A complaint was lodged based on a statement recorded by a youth, 17, who was riding a Bullet motorcycle with a relative seated pillion around the time of the accident.
The deceased were identified as Fatima Irfan Patel, 35; and Anjum Vajir Mujawar, 20; both residents of Shanti colony in Vijaynagar, Kalewadi, Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Police inspector Gheware said, “They were waiting at selfie point, which is so ill-placed. People stop in the middle of the highway to take selfies there. At other times, fruit vendors occupy the third lane completely.”
A case under sections 279, 304(a), 337, and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with sections 134, 184 and 119/177 of the Motor Vehicles Act was registered at Sinhagad road police station.
These two accidents have taken the total number of accidents that have occurred along this stretch in the past eight years to 46 and the corresponding death toll to 56. Last year, when a major pile-up occurred along the same stretch, a 24-point letter was sent to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
While the NHAI has acted on some of the suggestions, others including a ropeway to absorb the shock of heavy vehicles that lose balance and plain solid shoulders instead of soft mud shoulders have to be still worked upon. The police claim that street lights have been improved and rumblers installed after the last mishap but that hasn’t stopped accidents from taking place especially on the steep slope. Fruit vendors and the selfie point are posing newer threats on the highway. Moreover, locals are resisting closing of the arbitrary entry-exit point where local traffic suddenly merges with the high-speed highway movement.
Third accident in a row on the stretch
A third incident was reported on the same stretch of Mumbai-Bengaluru highway on Saturday which had claimed four lives in two days between Thursday and Friday.
The accident did not cause any death as four vehicles piled up along the highway before the Narhe bridge. A Kia SUV rammed into another vehicle and then two others, causing a minor traffic snarl in which two women sustained minor injuries, according to the police. The incident was recorded at Sinhagad road police station.
