Mumbai's Killer Roads: Potholed road sends vehicles crashing at Dahisar

This busy stretch in Dahisar is pockmarked end to end, causing innumerable accidents; speeding of heavy vehicles during the night, as well as lack of proper signage, add to the general chaos on this road

Rawalpada Junction,
Dahisar East

This stretch of highway is among the busiest in the city. The Rawalpada junction in Dahisar, however, is one of the most accident-prone ones. There are several things wrong with this spot, such as endless potholes, absence of lane markings, signboards or rumble strips, speeding by large vehicles, and sand particles strewn about, making it dangerously slippery for vehicles.

Case studies: On June 22, 2018, Pratik Mandelia, his friend Amit Upadhyay and a female friend were on their bike near Rawalpada Junction. A speeding vegetable truck crashed into them, killing all three riders. Pushpa Mandelia, Pratik's mother said, "When I reached Shatabdi Hospital, I learnt that my son and Amit had both succumbed to their injuries. The female friend died after three days. Pratik was my only son, and worked in a garment showroom in Dahisar. According to the cops, the truck was speeding. The entire incident was captured on CCTV."

Amit and Pratik; Pushpa Mandelia, Pratik's mother, (below row) Ritesh Gupta, his father Suresh and cousin Dhanu

On March 30, 2018, cousins Ritesh Gupta, 21, and Dhanu Gupta, 22, were returning home to Mira Road when their bike slipped on the sand-covered road, throwing the two into the path of an oncoming truck. Both died on the spot. Ritesh was a first year BMS student of St Rock College, Gorai, while Dhanu was studying engineering. Ritesh's father, Suresh Gupta, said, "The condition of the road on this stretch is terrible. Water and sand falling off tankers and trucks make it slippery. Authorities need to maintain these roads regularly and repair them periodically."

Localspeak
Kiran Manjrekar,
resident, Dahisar
'The condition of the road between Dahisar and Borivli is terrible with hundreds of potholes along the stretch and huge crevices in the road joints. MMRDA has paid a contractor Rs 50 lakh to clean and maintain the road by putting up signboards, painting lane separations, etc, but this is done just once a year. This road is also in desperate need of rumble strips to get speeding vehicles to slow down'

Dr Harish Shetty,
resident, Dahisar
'Taxpayers give back hundreds of crores to the government for the betterment of roads to ensure safe travel, yet not a penny seems to have been used for it. The authorities show no interest in maintaining this stretch of highway between Dahisar and Borivli. There are hundreds of potholes here, leading to accidents that can be easily avoided'

Policespeak
Balasaheb Ghadge,
senior PI, Dahisar traffic division
'This road is in urgent need of maintenance. While some accidents are caused because of people's carelessness, most times the reason is speeding and overtaking. Drivers do not follow lane rules, and speeding at night makes the situation worse. We have started invoicing such vehicles on the Dahisar toll plaza as a deterrent'

Expertspeak
Dr Dewan Rahul Nanda,
group chairman & founder, TOPSLINE
'We have been observing a lot of road accidents occurring at Rawalpada Bridge. Poor road conditions coupled with the narrowed width of the stretch due to the autorickshaw stand and Metro work are largely to blame for the mishaps. With adequate CCTV and human supervision through trained RTO officers/traffic marshals and regular road maintenance, the section can be made much safer'

Graphic/Ravi Jadhav

Total Accidents 14
2017-2018 (till Aug 31)

Types of accidents:
Speeding, heavy vehicles trying to overtake, cars, and bikes crashing, as there are huge potholes and no signage

Total casualties
05 Death
05 Major injuries
04 Minor injuries
Source: Traffic department

Problems

• Huge potholes, no lane separators
• No signboards, rumble strips, or speed bumps

Solutions

• Roads should be maintained and cleaned every day
• Navigation boards should be put up in radium

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