Authorities level road; set up barricades where sharp curve at Samta Nagar was confusing motorists
The smooth road at the accident prone spot at Samta Nagar now. Pic/Nimesh Dave
It took the loss of four lives for the authorities to fix one of the most dangerous accident stretches on the Western Express Highway at Akurli Road in Samta Nagar, Kandivli. mid-day had done a series of stories about this stretch of badly engineered road. The accident spot was located at Samta Nagar flyover under which there is a two-lane subway. The divider between the road was removed in 2021. Now MMRDA has levelled the entire road with the accident prone stretch.
MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner S V R Srinivas told mid-day, “We removed two accident spots recently including one from Western Express Highway at Kandivli and another at Mulund Naka junction flyover. We levelled the road for the safety of the people so that no accident will take place at these spots.”
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The MMRDA has not yet removed this divider from the road (towards Mira Road). Pic/Nimesh Dave
On Tuesday The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opened the highway for the public on the south bound side after the levelling of the road was completed. MMRDA also removed the paver blocks from the northbound road highway and work of leveling that road is in process. This road will also be as smooth as the other side, in the next few weeks. While the rectification of the error has come too late for those who lost their lives in accidents on the road, their families say it will ensure no one else will suffer due to it.
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In 2017 Kandivli resident Siddhesh Vengurlekar, 25, died at this spot after he lost control due to the uneven road on the south bound stretch at the spot. Two youths, Saad Teerandaz and Bilal Ansari, residents of Mira Road, also lost their lives at this spot on the northbound side where there were dividers with paver blocks. Kamlesh Yadav, 25, a resident of Malad also lost his life here.
Kamlesh Yadav
‘Our friend will never return’
Siddhesh was going to his office at Powai when his bike crashed into a divider at this bridge. Siddhesh’s close friend Jay Vyas said, “I use this road to go to office every day and it reminds me of everything. We always drive carefully when passing this way. In 2021 a part of this road was shut down and a worker told me that they were reconstructing the road.
Bilal Ansari and his friend were killed at the spot. Pic/Shadab Khan
We are happy now that nobody will die at this spot but our friend will never return. More than 4-5 people have died on the stretch in past and many people were injured here. MMRDA should have taken this decision early. We lost our friend due to the error in the road structure.” Rupali Vengurlekar, mother of Siddhesh said, “I always remember him when I come to this spot. Now MMRDA has rectified the error in this accident spot and we are thankful to them that now nobody else will lose their loved one.”
‘Wrong road structure’
On March 27, 2017, around 5.30 pm, two youngsters in their 20s — Bilal Ansari and Saad Teerandaz — students of hotel management and engineering and residents of Mira Road died at this spot. They were returning home to Mira Road on a bike. “They died because of the wrong road structure. The bike crashed into the divider in the middle of the road. Doctors also told us that they were brought in late and if they had been brought at least 5 minutes before there were chances that they could be saved,” said Bilal’s mother Marium Ansari. The family shifted from Mira Road to Kurla after his death as being around that road was painful for them.
(From left) Siddhesh Vengurlekar (who died in a mishap) with his friends Jay Vyas and Viraj Ghanekar
‘Authorities responsible’
Kamlesh Yadav was a brilliant student and wanted to complete his IT studies in the US. Speaking to mid-day, Mayank, his brother said, “Kamlesh died at this spot in January 2020 after his bike slipped and a dumper ran over him. The dumper driver fled from the spot. The authorities are responsible for my brother’s death due to error in the road. They have repaired it now and in future it will save people’s lives.”
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