Dharwad: The National Highway-4 bypass between Narendra Cross and Gabbur Cross, which has earned notoriety as a death-trap, claimed one more life on Thursday as a private luxury bus and goods-laden lorry collided head on. Five persons were injured.
The tourist bus, which was on its way from Pune to Bengaluru, collided with a goods-laden truck while trying to overtake another bus near Haddina Gudda on the bypass. The cleaner of the bus, Vinayak Ghodke, 39, died on the spot. The truck driver who was seriously injured and four others, who had sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the district hospital by Dharwad Rural police.
Police had to struggle for four hours to remove the injured driver who was struck inside the mangled vehicle. Traffic was disrupted on the bypass for four hours with vehicles lining up to a distance of 5km.
The two-lane 32km stretch, constructed in 2000, has become a death-trap with several lives lost in fatal accidents. On January 15, 2021, a total of 12 lives were lost near Itigatti Cross. The accident had evoked sharp criticism from citizens, who had slammed the authorities for failing to widen the bypass. The police department is also being blamed for not enforcing traffic management on the stretch. “The police have failed to press into service interceptor vehicles and enforce alcometer tests. The conviction rate in cases of accidents on highway is also poor. Why are the guilty drivers getting acquitted?” asked Basavaraj Patil, a resident of Dharwad.
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