PUNE: On Sunday night, Ashok Majethia, a Pune resident was on his way from Pulgate to his home in Karvenagar when he met with an unfortunate accident.
Majethia’s SUV drove over the divider right outside the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) office on Shankatsheth road which is half demolished while the remaining part of the divider does not have any reflectors or warning signs.The poor street lights made it even more difficult to see the divider.
Just like him in the past, many accidents have taken place in the same spot, said locals who helped Majethia get his car down.
Earlier, TOI had highlighted the issue of poor dividers and road signages on the same road causing accidents, following which the authorities took temporary measures like painting reflectors or putting up barricades. However, these measures faded over time and the barricades have also been removed.
Majethia said, “I was on my way home when suddenly the car rammed into the divider as I was trying to avoid a bus which was overtaking me from the left to get to the bus stop on the other end, and so I could not see the divider on the right side. The divider was half broken and ascending in height, which is when the car got stuck. There were no reflectors or warning signs, and there was heavy traffic. The locals helped me get the car down and also told me that this has become an accident-prone zone.”
Ravi Khothe, a local resident who helped Majethia, said, “This has become a high accident zone, and we see such minor and major accidents almost on a regular basis. Two-wheelers are often seen bumping against the divider, and four-wheelers get stuck. Fortunately, the driver did not get any serious injuries, but the administration needs to take immediate action.”
Although this particular stretch of road belongs to the PWD, in a GR issued by the govt in November 2017, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was handed over the responsibility to maintain and repair this road along with 11 other such roads that belong to PWD and run through Pune district.
Aniruddha Pawaskar, Chief Engineer, Roads Department, PMC, said, “I will ask my engineer to visit the site and inspect it, and we will do the needful.”