Pune: Wednesday’s fatal accident in Aundh that claimed the life of a 73-year-old man has sparked widespread anger among residents of the neighbourhood. Angry residents want Pune Municipal Corporation to be held accountable, with some even calling for a case of culpable homicide to be registered against errant officials.The accident occurred on Nagras Road in Aundh — Jagannath Kale was riding his two-wheeler on the road when it hit a narrow, rainwater-filled gap between the uneven road and the pavement. The bike skidded, he fell onto the road, and within seconds, a car driven by a woman with her children ran over him, resulting in his death.Angry resident and traders in Aundh said this was not an isolated incident. In fact, they said, this was symptomatic of the apathy shown by civic officials towards their problems, including the poor conditions of roads and footpaths. “It is like the PMC is mocking us,” said a resident.Residents said following Wednesday’s accident, PMC carried out token repairs — workers arrived with materials the same night, but patched only a small section of the road before they left, dumping sand and pavement blocks haphazardly by the roadside. Three days later, the gap remained unaddressed.“This was not an accident, this is wilful negligence,” said Nana Walke, president of the Aundh Traders’ Association.Walke demanded that the police charge PMC officials with culpable homicide. “If a private contractor or a citizen was responsible for the road, police action would have been swift. If a politician merely skidded and scratched himself, some engineers would already have been suspended, and an FIR would have been filed against them. Why should PMC escape the law?” he asked.Senior inspector Uttam Bhajnawale of the Chatushrungi police said they cannot book PMC in this matter. “We contacted the family, who will come to the police station after completing Kale’s last rites and related rituals,” he said.The cement road was laid 10 years ago. In the years since, traffic increased manifold, but the road’s width did not keep up. The condition of the road too deteriorated.Officials from the Aundh-Baner ward office said the PMC’s Road Department is responsible for the maintenance of all roads wider than 12 metres and their footpaths. An official from the department, requesting anonymity, said, “The junior engineer must inspect the roads under their jurisdiction and repair them wherever necessary.” PMC chief engineer (road) Aniruddha Pawaskar could not be reached for comment. , Chief Engineer (Road), Road Department of the PMC, could not be reached for comment nor did he respond to messages.Suresh Soni, who works at Rahul Restaurant and witnessed the accident, said the car was being driven at around 20kmph as there were other vehicles on the road. “Every day, there are similar accidents or near-misses on these roads. Four-wheelers are relatively unaffected, but the uneven surface, a lack of medians, etc, makes it dangerous for two-wheelers,” Soni said.The woman, whose car ran over Kale, declined to comment.Urmila Tarhawadkar, a homoeopath who stays in the same building as Kale, lambasted PMC. “Because of the negligence of civic authorities, an elderly man lost his life. This was completely avoidable if the PMC cared a bit,” she said.Manohar Vanvari, a 79-year-old resident of the area, said Nagras Road is witness to traffic jams regardless of the time of day. “There are hospitals on this road and ambulances are always caught in traffic. I wonder how many people died because they couldn’t reach the hospital on time,” Vanvari said, adding that the road’s conditions came to the fore only after Kale died. “How many more deaths will it take for the traffic police and PMC to wake up?”Achalram Choudhari (66), a long-time resident, said, “If the authorities remain unresponsive to our problems, it will be hard for us to survive,” said Choudhari.Calling the PMC more thick-skinned than a rhinoceros, Sanjay Rathod, a member of the traders’ association, said, “It is time for people to stop messaging on WhatsApp and come out on the streets to protest. Such accidents have been normalised, which is the saddest part. If the officials start getting penalised, they will ensure that quality is maintained. The police need to assign responsibility for Kale’s death.”Adding to the problem are two-wheelers treating the footpath as the thoroughfare. “Going on a morning or evening walk has become hazardous. We have approached the police many times to deploy wardens in the area, but nobody cares,” said Dilip Deshpande (79), a resident.
