NASHIK: The sight of a truck, which had rolled 100ft down into a valley of the Mumbai-Agra national highway ghat section in Igatpuri in July and is still lying there, sends shivers down the motorists’ spine as they take the arterial road every day.
The truck driver had failed to negotiate a sharp curve along the ghat section. He died on the spot and the helper was critically injured. It could have been fatal for the four railway gangmen had the vehicle fallen on the restroom, where they were sleeping, along the Igatpuri-Mumbai train tracks after breaking the side walls of the highway in the absence of any crash barrier.
Motorists using the highway rue that the condition of the 10km stretch of the highway’s ghat section, from Latifwadi to Pimpri Phata, turns pitiable every monsoon and accidents are a frequent affair.
Dhule resident Mohammad Rafique, who has to travel Bhiwandi on the Agra-Mumbai national highway on a two-wheeler for his business, said, “The one-side trip time is usually around 5 hours on two-wheeler. But once the monsoon arrives, it takes three more hours to reach Dhule. I have to be extra vigilant while negotiating the ghat section of the highway at Igatpuri. The stretch is a nightmare.”
A visit to the ghat section by team TOI revealed that the parts of the road have worn out and potholes mark many parts of the stretch. Stone gravel is strewn all over the road. And when it rains, some parts of the road look like marshy land with slush making the road all the more dangerous. What is more agonising is the absence of crash barriers in some parts of the highway stretch.
The additional director general of the Maharashtra Highway Police, Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, admitted that the road in that ghat section was not in a good shape. “The Nashik division of the highway police division has got in touch with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) about the measures to be taken,” Upadhyay said.
Nashik highway police officers said during monsoon, the ghat section would be treacherous for vehicles. On an average, the section witnesses three serious accidents in a month and about 15 instances of heavy vehicles breaking down. “We have been writing to the NHAI on the need to have crash barriers and oundary walls,” said a highway police officer.
Retired defence officer Vijay Manchanda, who has been travelling between Mumbai to Nashik for the past 15 years, said, “The condition of the road during monsoon is deplorable and is deteriorating every year, though we pay a toll. It is imperative for the NHAI to ensure proper upkeep of its roads.”
Bhim Singh, a truck driver from Uttar Pradesh, Bhim Singh, said, “The tyres of the vehicles get damaged because of the poor road condition. Besides, the rims of the tyres get twisted too.”
Abhay Kulkarni, chairman of NGO Nashik First, said, “I am apprehensive that the NHAI is not paying proper attention to roads maintenance. The agency should make the contractors accountable for the road work.”
