An accident occurred on the old Mumbai-Pune highway near Barwai village, where a devotee (Varkari) woman returning home after attending a Kirtan at the Vitthal Rukmini temple in Barwai village was hit by a speeding NMMT bus, resulting in her death. The Panvel taluka police have arrested the NMMT bus driver responsible for the incident.
The deceased woman was identified as Yamuna Paddu Pawar (70), a resident of the village of Mote Bhingar in Panvel. As a devotee, she frequently visited nearby villages to attend Kirtans. On Wednesday, December 11th, which was Ekadashi, Pawar went to the Vitthal Rukmini temple in Barwai with other women from her village at 9 AM for the Kirtan. After the Kirtan finished in the afternoon, she was on her way back home around 1:30 PM. While crossing the Mumbai-Pune highway near Barwai village, she was struck by a speeding NMMT bus. Yamunabai was severely injured and was taken to the hospital, but she passed away before receiving treatment. After the incident, the Panvel taluka police filed a case against the NMMT bus driver, Sambhaji Nag, who was arrested.
In the wake of accident of BEST bus in Kurla that killed seven people, NMMT and traffic police are conducting awareness programs for the drivers. NMMT Manager Yogesh Kaduskar said that NMMT does not take such issue leniently and takes stringent action. Before assigning job to any new driver, the driver undergoes stringent training for 15 days, said Kaduskar.
