07 January,2026 10:05 PM IST | Mumbai | Madhulika Ram Kavattur
Engineer Chaitanya Patil addressing about the hazards on NH66. Pic/Shadab Khan
A lengthy and lonely but a purposeful walk is what Chaitanya Patil, an engineer by profession, decided to on the National Highway 66 from Mumbai to Goa.
Also a social activist, Patil told mid-day, he had been working on making Mumbai's roads better for people since his college days.
"While in college, I used to post on social media pointing out issues like potholes, etc. Sometimes the authorities would reply and fix the issues, and sometimes they wouldn't. It was then that I realised that we need to constantly remind them of things for them to get things done."
While he was actively working on making things better on the road infrastructure front, he had filed a few RTIs wanting to know how many accidents happen on roads near the Konkan belt.
Chaitanya Patil during the press conference at Press Club in Mumbai. (Pic/Shadab Khan)
He said, "When I got my replies, I was shocked to see that just in Raigad, there were more than 100 accidents which were happening and which led to deaths."
Starting his walk on the NH 66, Patil also recorded all the problems and safety hazards on the road with GPS locations in each photo, giving the reason for that. He said, "Without those, authorities can say that the photos are not from the highway, so I used my engineering knowledge and decided to have GPS in each photo, as with the help of the longitude and latitude of each photo, anyone in the world can see where the photo was taken. Along with that, sending multiple photos would make it harder for authorities to identify the areas, so I resorted to QRs, which compiled everything."
When asked about which were the areas he found most dangerous in terms of the road, Patil pointed out that Nagothane, Sangameshwar, and Ratnagiri were some of the places where the roads were in the worst conditions, with the sides of the roads often filled with debris. "Even in patches where the road was new, I observed that potholes were in the middle of the road, which no one driving on the highway at high speeds would expect and would lead to fatal accidents," he said.
He added, "When accidents happen, we often hear that the families would be given remuneration, but that's not the best option; prevention of accidents is. When in every other situation we choose to prevent things before they happen, how do we not hope for the same on the roads we drive on?"
The locals of towns around the road were also intrigued by Patil's initiative; talking about them, he told mid-day, "I still get calls and photos from them keeping me updated on the condition of the roads there. They have lost boys who are bears over 25. One of the boys was 22; he has gone into a coma and still hasn't woken up. It is they who suffer the most, those who have to use the road daily."
Chaitanya Patil pointed out the problems at Mumbai Goa National Highway 66. (Pic/Shadab Khan)
Pointing out that most families who are not affluent don't have enough liquid funds to care for their family members who have suffered an accident and need long-term care, he said, "They sell their lands for money, but there is only so much they can sell before running out of options."
The authorities, on the other hand, have not yet given Patil a concrete response for his reports; he claims, "I keep getting the generic response that my complaint has been sent to the concerned authorities but have not received a single reply."
While also being someone who has a fish farming business of his own, when asked how he managed his finances, he said, "I choose to lose a month's income to try and save lives by doing this. My whole point is that everyone keeps saying someone should do something, so I become the someone who does something to help people."
