Prachi Mishra, Pune
In a gruesome accident that took place on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway around 1 a.m. on 16th July, 5 pilgrims died and nearly 43 others got injured when the bus carrying them collided with a tractor. There were a total of 54 pilgrims inside the bus.
The pilgrims, admirers of Lord Vitthal, were traveling in a luxury bus from Dombivli to Pandharpur for the auspicious occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi on 17th July. But, their plans were disrupted when a tractor moving in the same direction suddenly tried changing its lane. This unanticipated move led to the clash of the bus with the tractor and it went down the slope, and fell into a 30-40 feet deep narrow valley, because of the huge impact.
The traffic on the Mumbai – Lonavala lane was halted for nearly three hours till the rescue operators arrived and took control of the situation. A crane was used to retrieve the bus from the gorge after which the traffic conditions normalized.
People who suffered injuries were urgently rushed to the nearest MGM hospital and Panvel Rural Hospital situated in Navi Mumbai to provide them medical attention, out of which five are still in a critical state. The identities of the deceased have not been revealed by the officials, though they confirmed that the authorities are working to provide compensation to the victims’ families. A compensation of Rs. 5 lakh would be given to them.
Further Investigations are still ongoing. Officials are focusing their scrutiny on how a tractor, which is a prohibited vehicle for an expressway, entered the accident spot. DCP Vivek Pansare and DCP Navi Mumbai Pankaj Dahane in a statement made to reporters said that the passenger bus was speeding, which is speculated to have been the cause of the collision, when the tractor abruptly changed the driving lane.
Maharashtra Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, visited the MGM Hospital to check on those who have been injured. He provided consolation to the victims and their families by promising that the state would take care of the entire medical cost in their treatment. He even guaranteed that the critically injured will be shifted to the main city hospital if need be and assured the kins that all necessary aid will be provided by the government.