The Gowari (Sitabuldi) flyover saw another pileup on Sunday evening, the second in two weeks, highlighting concerns over traffic safety. The accident occurred when traffic, halted for a politician’s convoy, resumed, causing vehicles to speed. A car suddenly braked in the middle of the flyover, triggering a chain reaction. According to daily media report, Manish Nikose, one of the victims, said, “When the vehicles rushed forward, the car in front of me abruptly halted.”
Nikose added, “My vehicle hit the car, and the car behind me collided into mine.” The crash not only damaged his vehicle but also injured his four-year-old child. “My wife, sitting in the front seat with our child on her lap, was thrown toward the windshield. While the seatbelt prevented serious injuries, my child’s head hit the glass, causing minor bleeding. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t severe and didn’t need intense medical treatment,” he said. Despite the severity of the pileup involving over 10 vehicles, the incident was not reported to the police.
Sitabuldi police officers were surprised, stating they had no information about the accident. “I was on duty but wasn’t informed,” said one officer. Nikose added that due to the rush hour, commuters didn’t report the crash and instead drove their damaged vehicles forward.
It is unclear whether other motorists involved in the accident were injured. About 15 days ago, a similar pileup involving seven vehicles occurred on the flyover, causing major traffic disruptions, though no one was injured. Nikose criticized the police for poor traffic management, while Sitabuldi cops cited the lack of speed breakers as a contributing factor to the accidents.
“The government agency concerned should install rumblers on the flyover. We can only send request letters,” a police officer said. Deputy commissioner of police (Traffic) Archit Chandak too expressed concerns, adding that the long divider at the Morris College T-Point where the flyover lands needs to be shortened.
“The long divider leads to queuing on the flyover, and when a vehicle moving at a normal speed of 50 km/h on the flyover halts suddenly, such accidents occur. We have sent multiple letters to the Public Works Department (PWD) regarding this issue but there has been no response. Meanwhile, we have placed signboards indicating the spot as ‘accident-prone’ and set speed limits,” Chandak said.