Pothole kills doctor a month before wedding in Palghar

MUMBAI: A 23-year-old doctor from Palghar was crushed to death under a truck after she fell off a bike on a potholed stretch of the Bhiwandi-Wada road late on Wednesday. Dr Neha Shaikh who was slated to get married on November 7 was riding pillion on the bike which her brother was riding.
The siblings, residents of Kudus in Wada taluka, were on their way home from Bhiwandi where they had gone shopping.Around 11pm, as their bike was passing by Ganeshpuri locality, the two-wheeler skidded on the road pockmarked with potholes. Neha was thrown off the bike and was run over by a truck that was right behind. While she died on the spot, her brother sustained minor injuries. Locals rushed him to a hospital. The truck driver managed to flee from the spot.
Neha’s family had already started distributing the wedding invitations. She was to move to Saphale in Palghar district after marriage.
Soon after, residents around the accident site blocked the Angaon toll naka, demanding action against the road works contractor. Residents said that the condition of the road has “gone from bad to worse” and at least half-a-dozen two-wheelers skid on the potholed stretch every day. The residents also claimed that heavy vehicles speed on the road while two-wheeler riders are rarely seen wearing helmets and thus end up injuring themselves.
A case of ‘causing death due to negligence’ has been registered against the unidentified truck driver at Ganeshpuri police station.
Members of Shramjeevi Sanghatana, an organisation that works for welfare of tribals in the locality, stopped employees of a toll booth near the accident spot from collecting toll. They alleged that the road had not been repaired or maintained despite a “huge” amount being collected as toll.
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