Govt not doing anything to stop accidents on Samruddhi Expressway: Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday expressed grief over the loss of lives in a bus tragedy in Maharashtra's Buldhana, and targeted the Eknath Shinde-led government for "not doing anything" to stop accidents on the Samruddhi Expressway where it occurred.

In a statement, Thackeray said the Buldhana accident should open the government's eyes as more than 300 people have lost their lives on the expressway since it was opened last year.

A total of 25 passengers were charred to death after the bus they were travelling in caught fire on the Samruddhi Expressway at Pimpalkhuta village near Sindkhedraja in Buldhana around 1.30 am on Saturday. There were 33 persons on board the vehicle, of whom eight survived, police said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 520-km-long Phase-1 of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg in December last year. Officially named as 'Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg', it is a pet project of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Describing the Buldhana accident as unfortunate and shocking, Thackeray said in a statement that in the last one year, the Samruddhi Expressway has seen more than 300 deaths in accidents.

"But the government has not done anything to stop the accidents. Hope the Buldhana accident will open the eyes of the government," the former chief minister said.