Navi Mumbai: Recently at midnight, an accident took place on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, which claimed five lives and left 43 injured, with five in critical condition, when a bus carrying 51 people crashed with a tractor and plunged into a drain. The bus travelers, followers of Lord Vitthal known as Warkaris, were on their way to Pandharpur for the Ashadhi Ekadashi festival. The accident happened around 5.5 kilometers along the Pune-bound lane of the expressway in the Panvel area.
According to police reports, a tractor driven by Tarvez Salauddin Ahmed, 28, from Uttar Pradesh, was traveling at high speed in the expressway’s first lane when a Jayashree Travels bus, operated by Sanjay Patil, 54, approached from behind. Tractors are not permitted on the expressway. The speeding bus driver tried to overtake the tractor but lost control, which resulted in an accident. The impact caused the tractor to skid 100 feet and split in two. The bus crashed through the left-side railing and toppled into a 10–15-foot drain. Ahmed and an unknown tractor passenger were killed instantly. Three bus passengers, Ramdas Narayan Mukadam, Hansabai Hari Patil, and Gurunath Babu Patil also passed away after the accident.
Five passengers had severe injuries, Suman Salunkhe, Sanjay Bapurao Patil, Baburao Dharma Bhoir, Ganpat Salunkhe, and Mama Pogya Bhoir. An additional 38 passengers suffered slight injuries, while five emerged unharmed. Navi Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Vivek Pansare said that five persons died in the accident, including two traveling in the tractor and three in the bus. There were 51 people on the bus from Dombivli towards Pandharpur. At the MGM hospital in Kamothe, forty injured passengers were sent to hospital, and three were sent to a government hospital. Five bus passengers escaped without any injury. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the injured passengers at MGM Hospital in Kamothe.The vehicles were removed by using a crane, restoring traffic on the expressway after a three-hour delay. Many agencies, including the Highway Traffic Police, IRB Patrolling, CIDCO Fire Brigade, and local police forces, were supported at the scene.
Rajaram Patil, son of the deceased Hansabai Hari, 65, said that people from Nilje, near Dombivali city, have maintained a 20-year tradition of participating in the Pandharpur pilgrimage during Wari. Preparations begin a week in advance, with the ₹1,200 cost which covers food and transport, a subsidized rate for the Warkaris. He also said that every year residents from our village go for Wari, and this year was no different. Though I never personally visited, my mother wouldn’t notice my advice to stay back. So, like every year I made sure that she was well prepared for the journey.But at 1:30 am, I received a shocking call about the accident. When I reached the hospital, I found out that she had passed away. I am overwhelmed with sorrow and find it very hard to put into words.
