Angry residents of Pune's Navale Bridge area staged a dramatic protest on Saturday by performing 'Dashakriya Vidhi' - traditional post-death rituals - at the accident-prone stretch of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway. The unique form of demonstration highlighted their frustration with authorities' continued negligence toward road safety measures that have claimed nearly 100 lives.
Protesters Issue 15-Day Ultimatum
The local community has given authorities a strict 15-day deadline to implement effective safety measures, threatening to completely block the highway if their demands are not met. This marks the second protest in recent weeks, following a tragic incident on November 13 where eight people lost their lives when a container truck collided with multiple vehicles near the bridge.
Among the eight victims, five were traveling in a car that caught fire during the collision. The protest was organized near the exact spot where these frequent accidents occur, making the demonstration particularly poignant for the participating residents.
Why Navale Bridge Has Become a Death Trap
According to local residents, the Navale Bridge stretch has earned the grim distinction of being Maharashtra's third most accident-prone area and Pune's number one black spot. The primary causes identified include the steep downhill gradient from the New Katraj tunnel to Navale Bridge, which currently stands at 4 percent.
Nikhil Davhale, one of the protesting residents, explained the technical issues: "The steep gradient is causing brake failure in vehicles, leading to numerous accidents. We demand that the authorities reduce this dangerous slope and construct an elevated road on this stretch to prevent further loss of life."
Government Response and Promised Action
In response to growing public anger, Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant announced on Friday that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will soon visit the Navale Bridge area to personally assess the situation. Samant acknowledged the multiple factors contributing to the accidents, including high vehicle speeds, problematic road design, and the dangerous downhill slope.
The Mahayuti government has committed to a two-stage solution - implementing immediate safety measures followed by long-term permanent solutions. Proposed immediate measures include increasing manpower, establishing brake testing zones, and installing warning notice boards along the dangerous stretch.
The protest saw participation from several local activists including Bhupendra More, Rajendra Jadhav, Latif Shaikh, and Harish Vaidya, who collectively emphasized that they will not hesitate to escalate their protest to a full highway blockade if substantial safety improvements are not implemented within their 15-day deadline.
