Mumbai: In yet another serious BEST bus mishap in the city, a bus on Route No. 501 crashed into a roadside divider on the Sion-Panvel highway near Mankhurd on Monday morning, killing a 65-year-old pedestrian and injuring 10 others, including the driver and conductor.The victim, Bhaskar Kagade, a native of Dharashiv, was reportedly waiting near the divider while on his way to catch a state transport bus to his hometown when the accident occurred around 9.55 am. He was declared dead on arrival at Rajawadi Hospital.As the incident involved a wet lease bus, like most crashes over the past two years, it has intensified concerns over maintenance standards of BEST’s 2,551 wet lease buses.The bus driver, Banwarilal Prasad Sharma (51) was booked for causing death by negligence and rash driving and was arrested. Sharma told police the accident was caused by brake failure.A BEST official said preliminary investigation has not revealed any technical problem with the bus, and they are probing if it was a “driver error”. Also, since July 19, there was no technical problem reported in the bus.Monday’s is the second major BEST accident this month in which the driver has cited brake failure as the reason. On July 10, a BEST bus in Andheri allegedly suffered a similar mechanical malfunction, injuring three people and damaging 14 vehicles.According to Mankhurd police, the bus on Route 501 was on Monday operating between Pratiksha Nagar and Airoli and was headed towards Pratiksha Nagar when it rammed into the divider. Passengers said the vehicle was moving at an estimated speed of 40-50 kmph. The force of the impact severely damaged the front portion of the bus, with the bumper getting detached.Local residents and passing motorists rushed to the spot and helped extract injured passengers before they were taken to nearby hospitals. Driver Sharma and conductor Vaibhav Waghmare (41) were admitted to Rajawadi Hospital and are reported to be stable.Police carried out preliminary questioning of Sharma and collected his blood samples and are awaiting forensic reports.Eight other injured persons were shifted to Govandi’s Shatabdi Hospital. They were identified as Shivmangal Maity (42), Ganesh Patel (24), Lata Waghela (43), Rajesh Varugamina (35), Ankita Jadhav (22), Ranjana Ghorpade (53), Shankar Sathe (47) and Sanket Nakati (25). Their condition was stated to be stable, though detailed medical reports were awaited.BEST committee members demanded a safety audit of wet lease buses, citing brake-related complaints. Committee member Ajay Singh said 89 buses reported brake defects in April, 91 in May and 49 during the first half of June.BEST panel chairperson and corporator Trushna Vishwasrao, speaking at the BMC general body meeting, said she had asked the BEST administration not to go ahead with the proposed lease of 1,500 buses from Mateshwari, the firm whose bus was involved in the accident. She claimed the maximum number of buses involved in accidents belonged to Mateshwari. She further said that, over two years, only one accident involved a bus owned by BEST and argued BEST should own more of its buses instead of operating them on a wet lease basis. BEST owns only 249 buses, while the rest are operated on wet lease, she said. Ex-mayor Kishori Pednekar sought a policy on compensation for accident victims.Citizens’ activist Nikhil Desai said, “It is shocking that Mumbai continues to witness frequent BEST bus crashes involving fatalities and multiple vehicles. Such incidents are particularly alarming at a time when the BEST fleet is at its lowest strength in decades. Passenger safety must be priority, and these accidents create fear and uncertainty among commuters who depend on public transport. With new buses set to be inducted into the fleet, BEST must ensure they are technically sound, equipped with speed governors, and subjected to rigorous safety checks.”A member of citizens’ group Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST said, “Preventive maintenance should be carried out regularly so that critical systems, especially brakes, never fail. Equally important is training and periodic refresher courses for drivers. Mumbai needs a safe, reliable and confidence-inspiring bus service.”RS MP Milind Deora tweeted, “I had raised concerns last month over BEST’s wet-lease bus operations & called for a comprehensive safety review. Today’s tragic fatal accident in Mankhurd underscores the urgency of those concerns. BEST must immediately fix every identified safety lapse & ensure strict accountability.”
