Three vehicles hit buffalo strolling on expressway

PUNE: Two speeding cars and a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s Shivneri bus hit a buffalo that had strayed onto the Pune corridor of the Pune-Mumbai expressway during early on Thursday.
The drivers of both the cars sustained minor injuries but the injured buffalo despite the three hits, walked away from the expressway.
The incident took place near Malavli around 12.30am on Thursday, said Highway Safety Patrol (HSP), Pune officials.
The two cars and the bus were heading towards Pune from Mumbai when the buffalo decided to walk on the expressway probably in search of grass. An HSP officer, who was at the spot, told TOI that the car was ferrying passengers from Mumbai to Pune around 12.30am. The car driver failed to see the buffalo on the expressway as it was dark and he hit the cattle.
After colliding against the buffalo, the car driver lost control over the wheel and the car crashed against the expressway median.
The driver of another tourist car that was following it also too failed to see the buffalo and rammed into the car which had stopped close to the median. A Shivneri bus following both the cars failed to spot the injured buffalo and hit the animal.
“After the third hit, the buffalo, walked away. The three drivers made all the effort to slow down other vehicles heading towards Pune so that they do not hit the buffalo. Policemen reached the spot and inspected the site. They tried to locate the buffalo, but it had walked away from the spot into the bushes,” the HSP officer said. Drivers of both cars sustained minor bruises in the accident and were taken to a hospital in Chinchwad. They were discharged after preliminary treatment, the officer said.
Amol Tambe, superintendent of police, HSP, Pune, said, “The matter has been reported to Lonavla city police station for further action.”
An officer from Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the agency responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the expressway, told TOI that the stretch of six km at Malavli is vulnerable as stray cattle are generally seen grazing on the saplings and plants on the expressway’s median.
“Local villagers tear down the fencing on either side of the expressway and push their cattle towards the greenery. The median has grass, plants and trees, which are watered every day. Every week, the gaps in the fences are repaired but they are breached by the local residents regularly,” he said. On the risk it poses for expressway users, the officer expressed helplessness.
“What can we do apart from repairing the broken the fences?” he said.
HSP officials said vehicles on the expressway move at high speed and incidents like Thursday’s may prove fatal. “We have repeatedly informed the MSRDC and other agencies about the upkeep of the expressway but nothing is happening about it,” the official said.