Teen killed accident caused by electric poles in middle of Shiye-Bawda Road in Kolhapur

Kolhapur: A 17-year-old motorcyclist, hemmed in by the electricity poles in the middle of the Shiye-Bawda road, was knocked down by a container truck on Monday. He died of severe head injuries on the spot. The electricity poles on this stretch continued to be in the middle of Shiye-Bawda road even after its expansion.
Utkarsh Patil, a Std XII student of Top village, was on his way to Kolhapur city on his electric bike to attend classes, when the accident occurred. At Usha Nursery, a container truck emerged from an industrial unit and took the road towards Kolhapur. Utkarsh, restricted by electricity poles on one side, could not move out of the container's way and was hit by the tail end of the container.
A case was registered against the unidentified container driver at the Shiroli police station. The driver fled leaving the container behind to escape the wrath of a crowd that had gathered at the accident spot. Utkarsh Patil is survived by his parents and a younger brother.
The accident took place around 4pm when the road witnesses a rush due to shift changes in the industrial units. Many motorists also use this road to reach Kolhapur to bypass the highway works.
Local residents blame officials of the public works department (PWD) and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) for not shifting the electric poles before the road works.
One PWD official told TOI that MSEDCL had not given them a no-objection certificate to shift the electricity poles. "The contractor was racing against time. If there was a delay in the road work, he would have received a hefty penalty. That is why he left the poles where they were and constructed the road. We applied to MSEDCL to shift the poles. However, we did not get the permission," said the official, requesting anonymity.
An MSEDCL official, however, said PWD had not paid the survey fees and did not follow up on the matter. "Otherwise, MSEDCL would have deployed personnel to assist PWD in removing the poles," he said.
Assistant inspector Sunil Gaikwad, of the Shiroli police station, said, "We have registered a crime under BNS section 106(2) (causing death due to negligent driving). I have repeatedly asked the authorities concerned to remove the electric poles after the expansion of the road. The poles pose a danger to commuters."
Four fatal accidents, including Monday's, have taken place here since Jan this year. "One occurred under the NH 48 bridge where a biker was hit by a dumper vehicle. One at Mahadik Bungalow and another along Sangli Phata road. In all cases, the vehicles were speeding, and the bikers were not wearing helmets," said Gaikwad.