Horror on Samruddhi Mahamarg: Another fatal crash claims 12 lives

A total of 855 accidents occurred between January 1, to July 3, 2023. Pic/PTI

Yet another accident occurred on the Samruddhi highway in the early hours of Sunday near Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar when a tempo traveller collided with a truck, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 individuals, including a 5-year-old girl, and leaving several others hospitalised and one orphaned.

A total of 35 passengers were travelling in the minibus from Buldhana to Shirdi when, at midnight, their vehicle collided with the truck just a few kilometres before the Vaijapur toll naka. Among the other deceased were six women and five men, who passed away at Vaijapur district hospital while receiving treatment. Meanwhile, 17 injured individuals have been admitted to Ghati hospital, with two of them in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to severe head injuries.

The police are still investigating the exact cause of the accident. Most of the passengers in the minibus were devotees returning from their visit to Sailani Baba Dargha in Buldhana and were on their way back to Nashik.

Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve in the Maharashtra Legislative Council visited the accident site and the hospital on Sunday morning to meet with the patients.

Dr Balaji Gore, the RMO at Ghati hospital, stated that all the injured are stable except for the two in critical condition, and no one requires further medical procedures. "Two other patients chose Discharge Against Medical Advice (DAMA), but they were not in serious condition either," he added. He mentioned that five politicians have visited the hospital since the accident.

Speaking with mid-day, Ambadas Danve pointed fingers at the RTO and highway police officials for the accident because the tempo traveller exceeded the prescribed passenger limit. He said that the accident could have been avoided if the authorities had stopped the vehicle before it entered the Samruddhi highway.
He also alleged that due to a lack of roadside amenities, motorists travelling on the Samruddhi highway have to travel non-stop. "I use the highway regularly, and while going from Ghoti to Sambhaji Nagar, we have to travel continuously for two to three hours. We cannot even stop on the highway because there are hardly any wayside amenities. The government should have developed proper infrastructure for wayside amenities along the Samruddhi highway before inaugurating it. What was the need to inaugurate it when there are very few amenities along the Samruddhi highway?" Danve added.

Patients recall the horror

One patient informed the media that RTO officials had asked the truck that the minibus collided with to move to the side, and that's when the minibus suddenly rammed into the truck. "A few of us escaped by kicking the minibus's door, and the police officials present there called the fire brigade, which rescued the rest," another patient explained.

Lives claimed by this accident include individuals of various ages: five-year-old Tanushree Solse, Sangeeta Asbale, 40, Anjabai Jagtap, 38, Ratan Jamdade, 45, Kajad Solse, 32, Rajni Tapase, 32, Hausabai Shirsaat, 70, Jhumbar Gangurde, 50, Amol Gangurde, 18, Sareeta Gangurde, 40, Milind Pagare, 50, and Deepak Prabhakar, 47.

Highway to hell

A grim statistic looms over the Samruddhi expressway, with a total of 855 accidents occurring from January 1, to July 3, 2023, resulting in around 106 fatalities. These accidents have been attributed to various causes, including loss of control, sleepiness, tire bursts, mechanical failure, tailgating, overspeeding, rear-end collisions, and other reasons, making the expressway a perilous stretch of road.

With inputs from Eshan Kalyanikar

855
Accudents occuring between Jan 1 - July 3, 2023