In a tragic head-on collision on the Bethora Highway on Thursday, two young riders lost their lives and two others were grievously injured when their scooters collided near the Bethora-Kannewal junction.
The accident occurred when Aditya Desai (21), a resident of Bethora, who was reportedly riding his scooter in the wrong lane for nearly two kilometers, rammed into an oncoming electric scooter being ridden by Isha Gawas (22) from Kelwada, Sattari. Both riders were declared dead on arrival at the Ponda Sub District Hospital.
The pillion riders — Yogesh Patil (22) from Sapna Park, Ponda, who was riding with Aditya, and Aditi Manjrekar (22) from Tulshimal, Parye — sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim for further treatment.
According to the police, Isha and Aditi, both students at the Shree Kamaxidevi Homeopathic College, Shiroda, were returning to Sattari via the Bethora Bypass when the fatal crash occurred.
Police inspect the accident site at Bethora, on Thursday. (Inset) Deceased rider Isha Gawas, who was returning from college.
Aditi had gone to the college to fill out her exam form, a day after attending her send-off on Wednesday.
Eyewitnesses stated that Aditya had been riding against the flow of traffic from Amigos Junction and had narrowly avoided several collisions before the tragic impact.
Locals were left shocked at the severity of the accident, especially given that the accident occurred on a well-developed four-lane highway. Many placed the blame squarely on Aditya for flouting traffic rules and riding on the wrong side, and expressed anguish over the untimely death of Isha, who was reportedly not at fault.
Residents have also raised concerns about lax enforcement of traffic rules ever since highway challans shifted to an online-only model.
Curti-Khandepar Sarpanch Nilkant Naik proposed the construction of an underpass at the busy Bethora junction and called for the activation of the already-installed but defunct traffic signals.