Uddhav Thackeray targets Shinde govt for not doing anything to stop accidents on Samruddhi Expressway

Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), lashed out at the Eknath Shinde-led government for not doing anything to prevent accidents on the Samruddhi Expressway, the scene of the bus tragedy that claimed lives in Buldhana, Maharashtra.

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.

The 520-kilometer-long Phase-1 of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg was officially opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December of the previous year. Its formal name is Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is the man behind it.

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.