One good turn deserves another

On April 19, in the village of Bhose, on the Chakan-Shikrapur Road, a Maruti car hit a cycle on which Satyavan Pingle and Santosh Pingale were riding double-seat. The accident occurred close to the Mitkar Baba8217;s math, but the resident inmates were busy finalising arrangements for the Baba8217;s yatra and getting his palkhi ready, and though a lot of people had flocked to the village, nobody appeared to have taken notice.

However, a young student, Ashok Tilekar, came forward and with the help of some yatris, ferried the men in an auto-rickshaw to the Joshi Hospital. He stayed at the hospital the whole night and saw to it that they received medical treatment. Both the lives were saved. Tilekar, who is a student of the Arts and Commerce College, Chakan, has another title to his credit 8211; most principled student for 1997-98 8211; and has earned awards for inter-state debates.

On May 20, Madhuri Wadnere and her mother-in-law Archana set out, as they often do, on their two-wheeler from their residence in Mayur Colony, Kothrud, towards the nearby Ideal Colony. As they neared the Rajhans Chowk, all at once, a speeding Fiat banged into them with such force that the two women were flung to a distance of about 15 ft., and Madhuri fell unconscious.

Hearing the noise, Nitin Rajhans, who lives close by, rushed out of his home. Taking stock of the situation and gauging the condition of those hurt, he promptly rushed back home and returned with his car.

Meanwhile, an auto-rickshaw driver had also witnessed the accident, and getting some passersby to help him, had bundled the unconscious Madhuri into his rickshaw and rushed her to the nearby Krishna Hospital. Rajhans followed with Archana Wadnere. Taking her residence number, he called up the Wadnere home on his mobile, informed the other family members of the mishap, and also ensured that the duo received immediate medical attention at the hospital.

The accident was a serious one. Madhuri took a complete day to regain her consciousness, and some more time to get her bearings back. For two days, she remained in the intensive care unit. Needless to say, the two lives were saved because of Rajhans8217; timely aid.

Syed Shaukat Ali is another gentleman who deservingly won the award for promptly coming to the aid of an accident victim, on June 16, at around 9.30 a.m. A young boy, Balu Shinde, employed in the Mayfair Society, Kondhwa, as a labourer, was travelling on his cycle from Kubera Park in Kondhwa and while crossing the Samtanagar slum colony, he was hit by a Pune Municipal Transport bus.

The injured boy lay on the road bleeding, but nobody came forward to help him, although a large crowd had gathered around the accident site. A few yards away, Ali, the owner of an electrical shop, came forward and carted the injured boy in an auto-rickshaw to the Satyanand Hospital nearby. He was administered first aid at the hospital, but since the wounds were serious, he was taken in an ambulance to the KEM Hospital and admitted there.

Since Shinde was unable to meet the expenses, Ali paid the charges initially. And then moved heaven and earth to raise funds for the young boy8217;s medical care. Courtesy his efforts, Shinde8217;s life was saved.

On the afternoon of August 3, Hrishikesh Hashilkar, a final year student of electronics engineering, was travelling with his friend, Amit Gupta, on an M-80 near the Holkar Bridge in Khadki. A truck hit their vehicle and both of them were thrown off the road. Police constable Anil Brahmane rushed to the spot, put them in an auto-rickshaw and travelled along with them. Hrishikesh was administered water all along the way by Brahmane. As soon as they reached the Sassoon General Hospital, Brahmane ensured that they were shifted to the emergency ward. He also brought medicines worth Rs. 300 that were urgently required by the doctors. Unfortunately, Hashilkar8217;s life could not be saved. He breathed his last at 4 p.m.

On August 8, around 5.30 p.m., at Sarole village, about 40 km from Pune, there was a head-on collision between a Maruti 800 and a truck. Sitting in the car were Sharad Kulkarni, his wife, Manisha, and their three children, Madhuri, Sheetal and Rohan.

Standing just a stone8217;s throw away from the accident site, was the owner of Hotel Prashant, Sandesh Dhadve-Patil, who heard a loud bang. Within a couple of minutes, he rushed to the spot and immediately began the rescue operation, without wasting any time. Due to the impact of the collision, all the doors of the car had been jammed. Dhadve-Patil broke them open with a hammer, and with the help of other villagers gathered there, brought the injured out.

He asked the driver of a jeep offering transport services standing nearby to accommodate the Kulkarni family. The driver initially hesitated. So Dhadve-Patil told him firmly that he would not allow him to run his business in the village if he did not come to their rescue. The driver agreed and took them to the Joglekar Hospital at Shirwal, about three kilometres away. Sharad Kulkarni, who had sustained severe head injuries, could not be saved. But the others received immediate treatment from Dr. Vinay Joglekar. Subsequently, they were shifted to the Inlak and Budhrani Hospital in Pune for further treatment.

Besides rushing them to the hospital, Dhadve-Patil got the telephone numbers of her relatives from Manisha Kulkarni and immediately contacted them. About himself, he merely stated that he was a social worker from Sarole village. Till the relatives made it to Shirwal, Dhadve-Patil was present in the hospital premises. He kept in touch with the family for a good four weeks after the accident date, to enquire about the health of the injured.

Mohan Awati, a resident of Baner, was returning from Paud on his scooter, when, on the Pirangut-Paud road, a truck knocked him down, leaving him unconscious. It was a little past noon. Quite a few vehicles drove past, but nobody bothered to stop and help the injured Awati, and he lay there on the spot till about 3 p.m. 8211; hurt, unconscious.

At that time came Navnath Totre, chugging along in his six-seater MH12-QA 4042 from Pirangut towards Pune. Two kilometres ahead of Pirangut, he sighted Awati on the road. He immediately stopped his rickshaw, got a couple of people to help him lift Awati into the vehicle, and sped him along to a nearby hospital. But the doctor there refused to administer any aid. Some people even told Totre not to put himself to so much trouble 8211; that it was probably somebody who had fallen down in a drunken stupor. However, Totre refused to listen, and insisted on ferrying the victim to the Sanjeevani Hospital in the city, and getting him admitted.

Not just that, on searching Awati8217;s pockets, Totre fished out his diary, and telephoned his office and residence. Receiving no reply at either place, he went all the way to Awati8217;s residence in Baner and got his wife to the hospital. Rushing to fetch the necessary medicines, he even went to the accident site and transported Awati8217;s broken-down scooter to his home.

Awati had suffered head injuries and his shoulder bone was fractured. All injuries attended to, he was discharged that night. All thanks to Totre. Had this good samaritan not come along when he did, and done all that he did, it would have probably been yet another figure added to the list of deaths on the roads.