A 72-year-old woman died on Saturday after a tempo trailer hit her on the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road (GMLR) . The woman was allegedly trying to cross the road when the accident took place, said the police.
The victim, Baby Ananda Chowdhury, a resident of Mankhurd, had left home for some chores in the morning. Her grandson, Vijay More, 26, received a call from a local shop owner who informed him about the accident.
Details of tragedy
The spot of the accident is Mangalmurti Junction. When he inquired with the police, they said the victim was trying to cross the road, when a tempo trailer hit her. She was taken to Rajawadi Hospital, but even before they arrived, she was declared dead by the doctors, said the police.
The driver of the tempo, Avinash Yadav, helped the victim, who was later arrested by the police. According to a report jointly released by BIGRS partners, BMC and the traffic police, in 2022, 161 pedestrians were killed in road crashes, while 148 were killed in the year 2020.
Though there is no independent data for the GMLR, it’s still considered one of the deadliest roads, especially for pedestrians. “Both sides of the GMLR are full of either construction sites, slums or local shops. Despite boards of no crossing, people attempt to do it, as to save time, or in emergency cases. Vehicles move at high speed, given it’s a highway, and on non-peak hours, it’s comparatively less crowded from a traffic point of view. Pedestrians think they can reach the other side, as they see it as empty, but vehicles that are at high speed, say between 40 to 50 kilometres, per hour, don’t or rather can’t stop their vehicle, hence accidents are bound to happen,” said a traffic police official.
“We have increased patrolling"
When asked what’s the solution to this situation, he said, “We have increased patrolling. It’s to check on pedestrians and also on accident/emergency cases. Plans to widen the pedestrian crossings and sidewalks are currently the top priority, said another official, as part of the plan to reduce accidents.
The report also mentioned that the most vulnerable road users are pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and three-wheelers – who accounted for 90% of road crash deaths in Mumbai in 2022. Reportedly, the largest ones are pedestrians.
Another problem, added another senior official, is that GMLR, which has a speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour, “Four-wheelers and two-wheelers tend to speed beyond the limit. It’s dangerous as there are other vehicles too, including heavy ones, and lighter ones as well. Most cases of vehicle-related accidents are usually caused due to skidding and the reason is speeding. Motorists and pedestrians both need to follow traffic rules and maintain traffic discipline,” he said.
In September, a father-son duo, Ramashraya Maurya and Mukesh Kumar, respectively, who were driving the Royal Enfield on GMLR, near Chheda Nagar, died after their bike collided with the road divider. Last year, 34-year-old Yusuf Khan lost his life while he was riding a pillion on a motorbike that skidded on the road.
