A tragic bus accident in Mumbai's Bhandup area has claimed the life of a 48-year-old traffic warden, highlighting persistent road safety failures in the city. Prashant Shinde, who served as a traffic warden in Ghatkopar for several years, was the only male victim in the fatal incident involving a BEST bus.
A Routine Journey Turns Fatal
According to his brother, Rajesh Shinde, Prashant was on his way back home when the tragedy struck. He was standing in a queue, waiting to board another bus, when the speeding BEST bus hit him. The impact was severe, and he was immediately rushed to the nearby M T Agarwal Hospital. Despite efforts by medical personnel, he was declared dead upon arrival.
Prashant Shinde is survived by his grieving wife and their young son, who is only ten years old. His sudden demise has left the family devastated and questioning the lack of concrete measures to prevent such recurring accidents on Mumbai's roads.
Echoes of a Past Tragedy: Lessons Not Learned
The family's anguish is compounded by the fact that this incident mirrors a previous tragedy. Sushant Dhotre, Prashant's brother-in-law, recalled a similar bus accident in Kurla last year that resulted in eight fatalities. He expressed frustration that the authorities failed to implement broad changes after that incident.
"Similar issues like hawkers encroaching roads, narrow lanes, and severe overcrowding, which played a role in the Kurla deaths, were also present here," Dhotre stated. He emphasized that the government should have learned from the past and taken proactive steps to address these chronic infrastructure and regulatory problems.
A Plea for Accountability and Change
The grieving family has made a heartfelt appeal to the administration and ministers. They demand that officials wake up to the glaring safety lapses and take immediate corrective action. Their primary concern is ensuring that no other family has to endure such a painful loss due to preventable circumstances.
The accident underscores a critical need for a comprehensive review of traffic management, road design, and public transport safety protocols in crowded metropolitan areas like Mumbai. The call for action is clear: rectify the known issues of illegal encroachments, inadequate road space, and crowd management to safeguard citizens' lives.
