Bus accident in Raigad: Narrow roads near tourist hotspots see heavy traffic, but lack protective railings

According to the local residents, several accidents have taken place in the area in the past few years.

In 2003, a tourist bus had fallen into a gorge in Pasrani Ghat near Wai killing 33 tourists from Gujarat. Last year, three members of a family had died on the Mahabaleshwar-Poladpur Road after their car fell into the gorge. The situation is better in Satara district compared to the ghat sections of Raigad.

Bus accident in Raigad: Overnight rescue ops end, 30 bodies found

“Half of Ambenali Ghat is in Satara district and the other half is under Raigad jurisdiction. The 16-odd kilometre of road in the ghat area has some kind of fencing, on and off. But on the stretch that is in Raigad, there is hardly any fencing,” said Akshay Pradeshi, a resident of Wada Kunbharoshi, a village along the road, 3 km away from Saturday’s accident spot in Raigad district.

Anand Utekar, a resident of Pratapgad area, said: “The administration wakes up only after a mishap. But only for a few days till media attention is there. The 4 km stretch that leads up to Pratapgad Fort (in Satara), was recently redone but the fencing is nowhere to be found. It is a Rs 4.5 crore project. They should have built fencing as part of the project itself.”