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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been pulled up by several authorities for at least four accidents on the Pune-Bangalore highway in which 25 people lost their lives in the past nine months. A woman and her daughter died in Shindewadi near Katraj last June, a mishap near Shirwal in November claimed four lives and in the first two months of this year, there were accidents near the Khambatki tunnel in which 19 people died. Police officials and road safety experts cited a delay in the six-laning work of the 150km Pune-Satara stretch of the highway as a reason for the accidents.

The traffic branch of the Pune police also blamed NHAI for lack of adequate road safety measures on the 34-km Dehu Road-Katraj bypass. In response, the authority directed the road construction company on contract, to implement safety measures suggested by the traffic police. At least 20 accident spots and causes of accidents were identified.

On June 6, a 30-year-old woman and her child were swept away by the gushing waters at Shindewadi near the Katraj tunnel. Rampant constructions on the hills, poor drainage system and equally poor traffic regulation had caused obstruction on the stretch on the day of the accident. District collector Vikas Deshmukh had ordered an inquiry.

The inquiry report blamed people who undertook illegal constructions at the foothills, as well as the contractor appointed by NHAI for the sudden flooding on the road. The report said that six-laning work of the highway stretch was underway near the tunnel where the flooding took place.

The drainage and water channel works were not done properly, which resulted in the flooding, the report added. The district administration as well as the NHAI demolished over 100 constructions following the accident. The district collector had also asked NHAI to initiate steps to prevent more accidents. In its report, the NHAI listed the mushrooming of the illegal constructions before the accident. Five months after the Shindewadi mishap, the authority was under the scanner for lack of adequate road safety measures on the Nira river bridges near Shirwal.

The highway police had then suggested that the gap between the old bridge and the new bridge over the river should be closed to prevent anyone from falling into the river. A road safety audit report, which had blamed the driver for the mishap, had, also said the gap between two bridges is unprotected and it should be closed.

On January 13, nine people were killed and three others injured when a heavy commercial vehicle fell on a tempo cruiser at Khambatki ghat on the Pune-Satara highway stretch. The heavy commercial vehicle and the cruiser were both headed towards Pune. The heavy commercial vehicle was trying to overtake the cruiser. The mishap took place at the dangerous S-turn after the Khambatki tunnel.

Ten people lost their lives on February 3, a few meters from the spot where the earlier accident had taken place. In the FIR, the Satara police named officials of NHAI and the infrastructure company responsible for construction, maintenance and development of the highway, co-accused for their alleged negligence in ensuring adequate road safety measures on the highway stretch.

Source-On Request