Senior citizen seriously injured after bike falls into open trench

PUNE: A dug up road, an uncovered trench and continued civic apathy to put up safety warnings led to yet another serious accident in Chinchwad on Monday night, this time leaving a senior citizen seriously injured.
Radheshyam Agarwal, a 70-year-old resident of Chikhli, sustained serious injuries when his two-wheeler fell into an open trench, which was dug to lay a storm water drainage pipeline on Spine Road in Shivtejnagar.
Local residents said Agarwal sustained serious injuries on his chest and head above his eye and said the road had been dug up and the work left incomplete midway. Balasaheb Gangawane, a local resident said, "The contractor appointed by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had begun the work around a month ago, but he stopped the work 10 days ago, leaving it incomplete." He added there were no blinkers or tin sheet barricades or even warning boards to alert motorists and pedestrians of the danger. "Even the streetlights are not functional," he said.
Babasaheb Bhojkar, another resident said, "This 25-foot wide road is now 6-foot wide, because of the open trenches and the debris lying at around 20 to 25 spots along the half kilometer stretch. Only one motorcycle or a car can pass through the narrow road at a time. There have been at least four incidents of motorcycles skidding due to the debris strewn on the road. The motorcyclists sustained minor injuries. Children riding bicycles too have lost balance due to the strewn debris."
On Monday night, Agarwal was on his way from Morevasti and crossed Shivtejnagar at around 9pm. Ramkishan Patelia, a senior citizen who lives nearby, said people who had gathered around the accident site got the phone number of Agarwal's son from him and contacted the family, who came to the site and rushed him to a private hospital. His motorcycle was stuck in the trench until Tuesday evening.
Speaking to TOI, Shirish Poredi, spokesperson, engineering department, PCMC said, "The area falls in the PCNTDA limits and work of laying storm water drainage pipelines is conducted by them. PCNTDA constructs the roads and hands them over to us for maintenance only."
PCNTDA engineering department officials could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Residents demanded that the open trenches be covered.
Box: Accidents of motorcycles falling into open drainage chambers of trenches dug for civic development works
(1) Ganesh Taware, 45 year old resident of Pimpale Saudagar was severely injured when he fell along with his motorcycle into the open storm water drainage chamber on a road in Pimpale Gurav on November 19, 2014. He was driving without helmet and sustained serious injuries on his head and face. PCMC officials had then said that the covers were put on the drainage chambers in this area but they were stolen after which the accident had occurred. (News appeared on November 20, 2014 in TOI)
(2) Forty-two year-old Vinod Baburao Madale died after he fell into a trench dug up for the construction of a flyover and left without barricades on Chinchwad station-KSB chowk road in Chinchwad. The accident occurred around 1.10am on Saturday, January 24, 2015. There were no blinkers, barricades, tin sheets or warning signs to warn the motorsists of the open trench. There were no streetlights. PCMC officials had said that there are terms and conditions in the contract for contractors to take adequate safety measures when the construction work for civic development works is in progress.
(News appeared on January 29, 2015 in TOI)
Eom/ siddharth gaikwad