Woman rider dies in accident; not due to potholes: Maharashtra govt

Mumbai: After a woman motorcycle-rider was killed on Jawhar-Dahanu road in the Palghar district near Mumbai, Maharashtra Public Works Minister Chandrakant Patil on Monday said that potholes were not the cause of the accident.

"The road on which she was riding was water-logged and had become muddy and slippery. Her motorcycle slipped and she fell down. A truck which was behind hit her, killing her instantly. The accident did not take place due to potholes," he told reporters in the legislative complex.

According to reports, 36-year-old Jagruti Hogale, a resident of suburban Bandra in Mumbai, fell after hitting a pothole on Sunday and was crushed under the wheel of a passing truck.

Hogale, member of all-women 'Bikerni' motorcycle club, was riding with two others to Jawhar in Palghar district.

According to the police, the advertising professional was overtaking a truck at around 9 am on Sunday when her motorcycle landed in a pothole, throwing her off.

Hogale was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead before admission, Kasa police station's Assistant Police Inspector Jaiprakash Guthe said.

She had earlier ridden to Khardung La in Ladakh, one of the highest motorable roads in the world, police said.

The truck driver was arrested under IPC sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (rash driving).

This is the fourth death this year due to vehicles hitting potholes on the Jawhar-Dahanu road, police said.

On July 4, an 18-year-old boy was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle while trying to avoid a pothole at Bhiwandi Naka.

Meanwhile, Patil said that he had instructed officials of the PWD department to repair all potholes on roads leading to the Konkan region ahead of Ganesh festival.

"All roads leading to Konkan will be clear of potholes before August 5," he said.

Earlier, he held a review meeting on the condition of roads linking Mumbai with Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Konkan.

The issue of potholes was in news recently when radio jockey Malishka Mendonsa incurred the wrath of the Shiv Sena which controls Mumbai's civic body for a satirical song on pothole ridden-Mumbai roads.