PUNE: A 52-year-old woman died early on Wednesday of a serious head injury she had sustained after falling off her two-wheeler which had run into a pothole at Mithanagar in Kondhwa on Monday night.
The woman, Zahida Ansari, was riding pillion with her husband, Mohammad Ansari (59), when their two-wheeler hit the pothole near Delhi Zaika hotel at 11.30pm. “It was raining heavily and my vehicle skidded off the road after hitting the pothole. I suffered minor injuries but Zahida was seriously hurt,” Mohammad said.
"The PMC needs to wake up fast to the pathetic condition of roads and potholes posing a danger to the road users. A woman lost her life in Kondhwa in an accident caused by a pothole. Craters and trenches appear with unfailing regularity on Pune roads every monsoon. What also has not changed is the civic body’s failure to find a permanent solution to prevent roads from getting damaged during rains. Enough has been said and written about the scientific ways to repair and restore roads, but neither the contractors nor the civic body seem to have learnt anything.-TimesView"
Mohammad first took Zahida to a smaller private hospital and then to Inamdar Hospital, where she was declared brain dead. He then took her home. “I got her discharged because of financial constraints,” Mohammad, who runs a small bakery, told TOI.
Mohammad told the Kondhwa police that Zahida was admitted to Inamdar Hospital around 1.30am on Tuesday. She passed away at home around 4am on Wednesday. A family doctor declared her dead. She was laid to rest at the Kondhwa graveyard, the police said.
“We counselled her family and explained the nature of her injuries. We advised them to continue with the treatment but they sought a discharge against medical advice,” Inamdar Hospital’s medical director Pervez Inamdar, who was travelling abroad, told TOI over the phone.
Inamdar said Zahida was on ventilator support at the time of discharge. “We don’t know what happened after that. We shared the information with the Kondhwa police at the time of admission and before discharging her, as is routine in medico-legal cases. There is no need to conduct a postmortem in traffic accident cases,” he said.
Zahida’s relative, Yameen, said the road where the accident occurred was poorly lit. “Mohammad lost control of his two-wheeler after a truck’s headlights flashed on his eyes,” Yameen said.
Senior police inspector Sardar Patil said they would seek all medical reports and the doctors’ opinion from the hospital. “Usually, a postmortem is not required in cases where the doctor is sure about the cause of death,” he said.
Former corporator Raees Sundke said the road was damaged due to its use by heavy vehicles engaged in construction work and heavy rain. “I have requested the Pune Municipal Corporation’s road department to fill the potholes to prevent accidents,” he said.
Hamid Khan, who runs a hotel opposite the accident spot, said the road is always wet because of water spilling from private tankers. “Vehicles driven at high speed as well as skidding on this road are common,” he added.
