Business tycoon Cyrus Mistry was returning to Mumbai from Ahmedabad when his car crashed on the bridge on the Surya river at Charoti Naka. Motorists complain that the design of the road, lack of proper signages and poor traffic discipline has made this highway a hotspot for accidents
The SUV in which Cyrus Mistry was travelling is towed away, in Maharashtra’s Palghar. ANI
The demise of business tycoon Cyrus Mistry on Sunday in a road accident near Palghar in Maharashtra on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway has once again thrown up questions about the construction of the road and its chequered past.
Mistry, the former chairman of Tata Sons and the scion of the real estate behemoth Shapoorji Pallonji Group, was travelling with three other family friends — noted gynaecologist Dr Anahita Pandole, her husband Darius Pandole and Jehangir Pandole, the brother of Darius — from Gujarat’s Udvada, a Parsi pilgrim town.
Dr Anahita Pandole was reportedly driving the Mercedes when it crashed into a divider on a bridge on the Surya river at Charoti Naka in Palghar, 120 km away from Mumbai. The car was speeding and tried to overtake another vehicle from the wrong side (the left), a police officer told PTI.
Mistry and Jehangir Pandole who were in the back seat, who weren’t wearing seat belts, died on the spot, whereas Dr Anahita Pandole and her husband Darius were admitted to Rainbow Hospital in Vapi with serious injuries. The two were later shifted to Mumbai.
News reports have confirmed that the last rites of Cyrus Mistry will be performed in Mumbai on Tuesday at Mumbai’s Worli crematorium.
As the country still reels from the shock of Cyrus Mistry’s demise, we take a closer look at the highway and why it’s considered a ‘black spot’.
A killer road
According to All India Vahan Chalak Malak Mahasangha, faulty engineering of the Mumba-Ahmedabad highway led to the fatal crash involving Cyrus Mistry.
Harbans Singh Nanade, spokesperson of the All India Vahan Chalak Malak Mahasangha, was quoted as telling mid-day, “The width of the southbound lane on Charoti flyover is 10.50 metres, has been narrowed down to seven-metre on the bridge which is built over Surya River. What kind of road engineering is this? The lane is also serpentine and the person behind the wheel cannot see the L-shaped death trap which gynaecologist (Dr Anahita Pandole) dashed into.”
“Motorists coming from Gujarat often prefer taking the right arm of the bridge as the left arm is very confusing. A new driver often misjudges the black spot and hits the L-shaped death trap. Its length is not visible to the driver. The highway authority has not put any warning signs,” Nanade was quoted as saying.
Auto journalist Bob Rupani echoed similar sentiments, saying to India Today that the Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway is one of the most crowded and badly designed highways in the country.
“The approach to the bridges on this highway need huge improvement. This highway that goes through Palghar is also used by lots of heavy trucks moving goods between Delhi and Mumbai and the truckers insist on occupying the right lane and force you to overtake dangerously from the left,” he told India Today.
Another issue with the highway is that the three-lane Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway that narrows to two lanes (where the accident took place) lacks a signboard warning motorists of the dangers ahead.
Motorists frequently driving on the highway also speak of the perils of using this road. Most complain that many parts of the highway are pockmarked and traffic discipline is very low.
Transport activist Jagdeep Desai, who often travels on the road, was quoted as telling Times of India, “Many vehicles can be seen overtaking from the left. Also, the road is uneven in some patches.”
Jainam Mehta, another road user, said on Twitter, “The entire stretch of Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway is in a poor condition. The major part of the road is covered in potholes. This NH 48 route is one of India’s most used/commuted highways and yet it’s in such a vulnerable state. Pathetic infrastructure. RIP #CyrusMistry.”
What the numbers say
As per data published by the National Crime Records Bureau, as many as 1.73 lakh people have lost their lives in around 4.22 lakh traffic accidents in the country in 2021 with Uttar Pradesh reporting the highest number of deaths in such mishaps at 24,711 deaths, followed by Tamil Nadu which recorded 16,685 deaths.
The report stated that the number of traffic accidents in the country increased from 3,68,828 in 2020 to 4,22,659 in 2021.
A Free Press Journal report added that in the past two years, 100 people have died and nearly 50 have sustained injuries between Manor (Palghar) and Achad (Gujarat) on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. This 52-km stretch has nearly a dozen accident spots, including the bridge over Surya river.
Globally, India accounts for 11 per cent of road traffic fatalities with just two per cent of vehicle share.
This clearly shows that India still struggles with road safety issues such as check on over-speeding, wearing of seat belts for rear passengers and inconsistent road designs.
Police speak
Traffic police officials have, however, stated that the road design wasn’t responsible for the accident in which Cyrus Mistry lost his life and added that it was over speeding, which caused the crash.
Officials have stated that the site is not accident-prone and also does not feature in the list of “black spots” where fatal accidents have taken place before.
“We checked the earlier accidents records but none had taken place on the spot where this one happened. It looks like the car was speeding and there was an error in the judgement of the driver while taking the bridge. Since the road narrowed to two lanes from three, the driver could not shift from left to right and lost control of the wheel and rammed into the divider,” said a police officer.
With inputs from agencies
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