Palghar: Crane Assistant Crushed to Death In Bus Collision At Talasari RTO Check Post; MLA Protests Barricades

A crane cleaner (assistant) was smashed to death when a Gujarat State Transport bus rammed the crane which was moving in reverse direction today at Talasari RTO check post in Palghar district. One person died on the spot of the accident and seven passengers were injured in this accident which occurred at 4 am.

A crane which was moving on the Gujarat Lane of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway (NH) entered a bypass lane at the Talasari RTO check post. This lane had no proper illumination nor had any signage which stated the lane was assigned for small cars and two-wheelers. After reaching the barricades on this lane, the crane operator understanding his mistake started to move in reverse direction with the guidance of his assistant.

The bus moved in the same lane with similar assumptions as of the crane operator and accidentally rammed the crane. The crane assistant was trapped in between these two vehicles and died at the spot of the accident. Seven injured bus passengers including driver Prakash Singh (age 45) were given treatment at Vedanta Hospital and other hospitals in Silvassa and Valsad. Aniket Santoshkumar Koundal, resident of Kagada, Himachal Pradesh (age 20) is the name of the deceased.

The MLA of Dahanu Vinod Nikole has agitated against the installation of barricades on the bypass lane with allegations of harassment and corruption by RTO officials. A few months ago he climbed an excavator and removed the barricades. MP Rajendra Gavit who had agitated on October 20 had also raised the issue of these barricades.

The transporters feel harassed by the RTO officials and the police who are engaged in checking the vehicles at different spots on NH 48. A road safety activist Javed Lulania said that if the barricades had been removed the accident which occurred today could have been averted. This accident occurred due to the arbitrary attitude of the RTO officials which is similar to the cause of death of 12 minibus passengers who died on Samruddhi Highway on October 15.