Mumbai: Why you should be extra careful on service roads

A 55yearold biker was killed after a tempo being driven on the wrong side of a service road off the Western Express Highway crashed into him at Kherwadi in Bandra East on Wednesday The deceased Hanumant Kharat a businessman was dragged for 30 metres before the tempo came to a haltThe Kherwadi police registered an FIR and took the driver into custody An investigation has been initiatedAkshay Kharat 30 deceasedrsquos sonKharat was a resident of Kurla and operated a leather wallet factory in Dharavi His son Akshay informed midday that his father never rode his bike without a helmet broke signals or rode on the wrong side of the road ldquoHowever he had to pay with his life after the truck driver took a shortcut and broke traffic rulesrdquo the 30yearold saidAccording to police officers the incident occurred between 330 pm and 4 pm The accused was heading to Vakola Kharat had gone to Andheri to deliver wallets While returning he entered the service road at Kherwadi after crossing the Santacruz flyoverThe spot where the accident happened at Bandra East PicRane AshishImmediately after the accident locals rushed Kharat to Sion Hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival The police arrived at the scene and took the tempo driver into custody subsequently arresting him late eveningKharat who turned 55 on May 15 lived with son Akshay his daughter Pallavi 31 and wife Sunanda 50 Recently Akshaymdashan assistant manager in an education firmmdashand he decided to move from Dharavi and purchase a 2 BHK flat in KurlaSonrsquos griefAkshay said ldquoI was at home around 930 am and my dad helped me pack my tiffin We laughed together and had a good time I told him I would come home in the evening and we would laugh more In the evening I received a call from Dharavi where we used to live My fatherrsquos Aadhaar card mentions Dharavi as our address After finding my fatherrsquos Aadhaar card the police visited our previous home Our former neighbours informed us about the police arriving and that my dad was injured When I reached the hospital I found out that my father had passed awayrdquoHe added ldquoMy father never broke traffic rules The accused should receive the strictest punishment and I want him to spend his entire life in jail Itrsquos foolhardy to take dangerous shortcuts just to save two minutesrdquoFamily manKharat was involved in his familyrsquos affairs and also ran a marriage bureau free of cost for relatives He had arranged over 50 marriages for his community Kharat struggled in life before starting the leather wallet factory His daughter Pallavi works for BEST while Sunanda is a housewifeSenior Inspector Rajendra Mulik of the Kherwadi police station said ldquoWe have registered an FIR against the truck driver and arrested him for negligence and also driving on the wrong side of the roadrdquoAdditional CP Traffic M Ramkumar said ldquoDriving on the wrong side is dangerous both for the driver and others We do not fine such offenders but register an FIR against them under the Indian Penal CoderdquoldquoRoads that connect to highways are not service roads but slip roads which are made for motorists to enter and exit highways On such roads we canrsquot set up dividers as they are busy We request to citizens to never take shortcuts and put lives at riskrdquo he added