A truck with suspected brake failure rammed into several other vehicles in Pune’s Navale Bridge area on Sunday night. (Express/Pavan Khengre)Following the accident on the Navale bridge on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway that left six people injured and at least 24 vehicles damaged on Sunday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has asked various government departments to submit a report in this regard and suggest corrective measures to curb accidents at the spot.
Maval MP Shrirang Barne said, “Yesterday (Sunday), the Chief Minister was in Pimpri-Chinchwad for an event where I was present with him. When the CM was informed about the accident, he called up various government departments and asked them to submit a report about the accident.”
Barne said the CM expressed concern at the repeated accidents occurring in Navale bridge area and asked officials to submit a detailed report suggesting corrective measures. “The CM has directed officials to ensure that no accident takes place in the area,” Barne said.
Barne said he also told the CM that he was not invited by district officials for meetings of Central Road Safety Committee.
“The Committee was set up by Union Highways and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. It is supposed to hold meetings every three months and review the road safety issues. In Raigad, the district administration has been holding regular meetings of the committee. But in Pune, I am not aware whether meetings are held or not,” he said.
When contacted, District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh said he was away in Delhi and would comment on the issue later.
Barne said he has studied the spot at Navale bridge. “There is a turn and a slope which are major cause of accidents. The road near Navale bridge is also in bad shape. But I think drivers are to be blamed for the accidents as they don’t slow down their vehicles despite the turn and the slope,” he said.
Prashant Inamdar of Pedestrians First said, “Navale bridge’s construction itself is faulty. I think both highway engineering code and civil engineering code have been violated. The gradient is steep on the bridge. The moment the gradient ends, the developed busy city area starts where local vehicles merge and demerge. The drivers of heavy vehicles coming down from the slope add to the chaos as they put their vehicles on neutral allowing it to move on its own. The moment they reach the end, the drivers apply sudden brakes. In such cases, the possibility of brake failure is high. This needs to be investigated.”
Inamdar said like in the Cyrus Mistry death case, a probe into which pointed at fault in alignment of the road, a proper study was needed in the present case as well.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Pune unit chief Mukund Kirdat also faulted the design of the four-km stretch from Bhumkar bridge to Navale bridge for the accident. “In case of brake failure, the driver needs clear space on the left side so that he could move the vehicle there. However, on this entire stretch, there is no ‘roadside clear zone’ as per the international road guidelines. If such a zone is available, vehicles which have suffered brake failure can move on it, thereby avoiding accidents,” said Kirdat.
The AAP said it would write a letter to Union Minister Gadkari pointing out the flaws in the construction of the road.