Bhiwandi: A 46-year-old woman who died in a pothole-related road accident on Thane-Bhiwandi Road on Sunday was on her way to see the flat where she had hoped to begin a new chapter of her family’s life.Sunita Pal (46), a resident of Manorama Nagar in Thane, was travelling with her husband, Akshaylal Pal, to Anjurphata in Bhiwandi to visit a flat they had recently purchased. The couple had planned to move from their slum dwelling to the apartment in search of a better future. However, the journey ended in tragedy after their scooter skidded into a water-filled pothole, throwing them on the road.Sunita fell on the right side of the carriageway and was run over by a truck coming from behind and died on the spot.Speaking to TOI, Akshaylal, who sustained injuries in the accident, recalled that his wife had repeatedly asked him to ride carefully after a recent road accident involving an acquaintance.“Just a few days ago, someone known to us had died in a road accident. While we were travelling to Bhiwandi, my wife kept reminding me to ride carefully. I have always ridden cautiously and was wearing a helmet. Because rainwater had filled the road, I thought it was only water and not a deep pothole. As soon as the scooter hit the pothole, I lost balance. I fell to the left, while my wife fell to the right. Within seconds, a truck coming from behind ran over her head,” he said.Still struggling to come to terms with the loss, Akshaylal said they had dreamt of shifting to a bigger home after years of living in a slum.“My wife was my biggest support. I do binding and printing work from home and she always helped me. We have a son and a daughter who are now of marriageable age. We bought the flat thinking that after our son’s marriage, our family would grow and we would move into a proper building. That dream has ended forever,” he said.Sunita’s brother-in-law, Abhay, blamed the administration for failing to repair the road causing death.“My sister-in-law died because of administrative negligence. Had the pothole been repaired in time, this accident would never have happened. The government must learn from this tragedy and immediately repair dangerous roads so that no other family has to suffer such a loss,” he said.Following the accident, Narpoli police registered a case against the truck driver, who had fled the spot.On Monday, the driver appeared before the police, recorded his statement and was later served a notice before being allowed to leave as the investigation continued.Residents said Thane-Bhiwandi Road is one of the busiest roads in the district, with hundreds of heavy trucks travelling to and from Bhiwandi’s warehousing hub every day. Although the road was concretised a few years ago, locals alleged that poor-quality construction has led to potholes developing at several locations. They claimed that in many stretches only the central portion of the road was concretised, while the edges were finished with paving blocks that have since sunk or come loose, creating dangerous craters that have now turned into a serious safety hazard for commuters.
