Mumbai: People, traffic make this Sion-Panvel stretch a nightmare

MankhurdSionPanvel HighwayThis is one of the busiest stretches of road that connects Mumbai with Navi Mumbai and further to Pune and other places This stretch is notorious for its potholes and heavy vehicle density It is owing to this that the road sees accidents at any time of the day or night Apart from heavy use there is a huge settlement of people in the area moving to and fro on the road which is a major reason for accidents hereLaxmi Baske with a picture of her husband Pundalik BaskeCase studY In September 2015 Pundalik Baske 64 who was on his way to attend a religious gathering died after he was knocked down by an autorickshaw around 7 am while crossing the road Incidentally Baske and his wife used to take the same road every day for the last four years On the day he died his wife Laxmi was not with him as she was finishing household choresAnshika Yadav in hospital topldquoI attended the gathering some time later but did not see him When I returned home around 1030 am I got a call from someone at Rajawadi hospital who told me Pundalik has suffered a head injuryrdquo she said ldquoI rushed to the hospital with my son and found him in the ICU He died after two daysrdquo Laxmi said Baskersquos son Vinayak said ldquoMy father never carried a mobile phone but kept a chit in his pocket with our phone numbers The police filed a case and arrested the accused who did not have a proper licence My mother is now very afraid to cross the road and is haunted by memories whenever she goes near the spotrdquoMahima YadavOn January 16 last year sisters Mahima 9 and Anshika Yadav 7 suffered serious injuries after they were hit by a car the person at the wheel was learning to drive The two girls were on their way to the Deonar Municipal School when the car hit them while they were crossing the road Bindhwasini Yadav their aunt who takes care of them said she usually drops the kids to school but that day the girls had gone alone She said Mahima received head injuries and fractured her left leg while Anshika was thrown in the air and got a major blood clot in her stomach Mahima was bedridden for four months and even now has problems while sitting down Anshika was bedridden for six monthsProblemsgt Long stretch has no foot over bridgegt Area has heavy traffic and heavy population on both sides of the roadSolutionsgt Building an FOB or subwaygt Need to depute police personnel in the area especially during early morning hoursLocals speakManoj Radhe Kishan Resident PMGP ColonylsquoThere is no FOB at this spot and we have approached officials and political leaders who have promised to build one but aside from assurances nothing has been done in the past 20 years As people live on both sides of the road and schools hospitals and other important amenities exist on both sides crossing it becomes necessaryrsquoNasiman Salmani Local residentlsquoMotorists drive rashly on this stretch which leads to accidents Currently a flyover is being constructed and guards do sit below it but are of hardly any use as they do not help those wishing to cross the roadrsquoOfficialSpeakNitin Bobade Senior inspector Mankhurd police stationlsquoUsually the speed of vehicles on this road is more than 80 kmph and people cross the road because they have work on either side Uncontrolled vehicles are the ones causing mishaps Now that a flyover is being built large vehicles for Pune and beyond will take that which could reduce accidents here I will be writing soon to the authority concerned asking them to create a passage for pedestrians so that accidents are reducedrsquoExpertSpeakJitendra Gupta road expertlsquoOnce the signal turns green all vehicles take left and right turns without slowing down And since the road is very broad at this spot when pedestrians suddenly see a vehicle coming towards them they do not know where to go Most motorists who jump signals in hurry are the ones who are caught in accidentsrsquoTotal Accidents33For 2017 and 2018 till July 15Types of accidentsAccidents of pedestrians hit by speeding cars occur regularly Also rash driving by heavy vehicles is a major cause of accidentsCasualties13Deaths05Major injuries15Minor injuriesSource Traffic departmentDo you have a Killer storyWrite to us and send us photos on mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates