Mumbai: Treacherous Kalyan road turns death trap for 5-year-old

Aarav Atharale

Repeated requests to the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to repair a road near the Shivaji Chowk in Kalyan have fallen on deaf ears. Even a letter sent by a shopkeeper of the area to the civic body has been ignored. However, the death of a five-year-old boy in an accident on the same stretch on Saturday, due to the bad condition of the road, has once again exposed the civic body's apathy towards improving public amenities. Refusing to be quiet about the matter, the deceased's family has decided to get a criminal case registered against the contractor, who is responsible for the shoddy work.

Slippery road
According to the police, the incident took place around 8.30 pm on Saturday, when the family of three - Mahesh Atharale, his pregnant wife and their son Aarav Atharale were returning from a relative's place in Gauripada, Kalyan on their two-wheeler. The road near Shivaji Park area has a steep slope and is filled with potholes. As the surface had become slippery due to rain, Mahesh suddenly lost control of the bike and it skidded. While he and his wife escaped with minor injuries, a truck coming from the opposite direction ran over Aarav, killing him on the spot. The Mahatma Phule police are investigating the incident.

Sources said that a number of accidents have taken place in the same area. This was mainly because the road was high and it had a number of potholes. Expressing his anger against the administration, Mahesh has decided to register a criminal complaint against the contractor and the engineers involved in laying the road.

'Will fight against this'
Speaking to mid-day, he said, "The road is in a poor condition. It took away my son's life. When the bike skidded, my wife jumped off at the right moment, but my son came under the truck's wheels. I will fight against this, otherwise the road will claim many more lives." When contacted, Neerja Mishra, BJP state women's affairs official, said, "Though the local people have registered a number of complaints with the corporation, it hasn't taken the matter seriously. The authorities won't understand till the shoddy road work leads to casualties."

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