Palghar accident: Highway shortcut culture, wrong side driving under scanner after 13 deaths
Police said the impact was so severe that the trailer dragged the tempo for nearly 50 metres, crushing the passenger compartment and leaving several occupants trapped inside.
The accident occurred around 4 pm on the Mumbai-bound carriageway near an overbridge at Dhanivari village, around 12 km from Bapugaon in Palghar district. (Express photo) A deadly collision on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway in Palghar that killed 13 people and injured more than 30 on Monday has once again exposed the dangers of rampant wrong-side driving and overspeeding on the stretch, with police blaming the absence of service roads and risky shortcuts routinely taken by motorists.
According to the police, the driver of an Eicher tempo carrying 45 to 50 passengers took the wrong side of the highway near Dhanivari village in Dahanu taluka to avoid travelling an additional 1.5 km.
The vehicle, meant solely for goods transport, was ferrying people to an engagement ceremony in Khadkipada village when it collided head-on with a speeding container trailer approaching from the opposite direction.
Police said the impact was so severe that the trailer dragged the tempo for nearly 50 metres, crushing the passenger compartment and leaving several occupants trapped inside.
The accident occurred around 4 pm on the Mumbai-bound carriageway near an overbridge at Dhanivari village, around 12 km from Bapugaon in Palghar district.
Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh said the stretch has long posed safety concerns due to the lack of service roads and frequent instances of wrong-side driving.
“We have been writing to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to construct a service road as soon as possible. Until then, we will completely stop wrong-side driving on that particular stretch by installing barricades,” Deshmukh said.
“We are also increasing highway patrolling and registering cases of overspeeding and wrong-side driving to help reduce road fatalities,” he added.
Police Inspector Amar Patil of Kasa Police station, who is investigating the case, said several villages along the highway lack proper service roads and underpasses.
“People often avoid using underpasses due to longer distances and prefer wrong-side driving, which is extremely risky,” Patil said.
The tragedy has also raised questions over the illegal use of goods vehicles for transporting passengers. Police said the Eicher tempo, registered as a goods vehicle, had been illegally modified to carry dozens of passengers.
Local MLA Vinod Nikole, who visited the victims’ families in Bapugaon, demanded enhanced compensation for the families of those killed.
“The compensation of Rs 5 lakh announced by the government is inadequate. Many families have lost their sole earning members. The amount should be increased to at least Rs 10 lakh,” he said.
Maharashtra Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike also visited the village and assured residents that treatment for the injured would be provided free of cost.
Kasa Police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Motor Vehicles Act against both drivers and arrested the tempo driver, Rohidas Pujiram Dhatrak, a resident of Dahanu.
The trailer driver, Avdheshkumar Sitaram Pal, sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment in hospital.
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