The sterile white walls of Talegaon General Hospital have become an unlikely place of reckoning for two young men whose dreams of building a better life in Pune now lie as shattered as the iron bridge that nearly claimed their lives on Sunday afternoon.
Prathamesh Palekar, 21, suffered from a head injury, while in the adjacent bed, Vijay Yenkar, 32, fractured his right leg and had lower back injuries. Both survivors of the devastating Kundamala bridge collapse that killed four people and injured 38 others are now asking themselves the same haunting question: Is pursuing prosperity in Pune worth risking their lives?
For Palekar, a polytechnic graduate from Belagavi district in Karnataka, Sunday was supposed to be just another holiday outing. Working in an industry in Chakan MIDC and living in Talegaon, the young man had planned a quick visit to nearby Kundamala with five friends from his native village.
“Sunday being the only holiday and Kundamala a nearby tourist place, we had planned to make a quick visit,” recalls Palekar. “After visiting, taking photos, and enjoying the scenic view, we were about to leave. Had crossed the first half of the iron bridge and were just a few steps away from stepping on the adjacent concrete bridge when we started feeling that the bridge was shaking.”
The narrow iron bridge, designed for pedestrian traffic, became a death trap as motorcycles approached from both sides, creating chaos and overcrowding that the ageing structure couldn’t withstand.
“The passage on the iron bridge was so narrow that even one motorcycle could not have comfortably passed, but just before the collapse, there was complete confusion as people had brought their two-wheelers from both sides, and the tourists got stuck in between,” Palekar explains. “I believe this overcrowding was beyond the bridge’s carrying capacity, and so the already worn-out bridge collapsed.”
“It got twisted, trapping many of them in the iron fencing and preventing their movement, which caused avoidable casualties,” he says. While Palekar and three other friends managed to escape, their friend Chetan Chawre, 21, lost his life.
Back in Belgavi, Siddappa Palekar received the phone call following the accident. His son, whom he had sent to Pune with hopes of a better future, was lying injured in a hospital. “We had sent him to Pune as there are many job opportunities here and hoped he may settle here eventually while having a good standard of living, but this incident has shaken me to the core,” says Siddappa.
“The administration also had the responsibility to manage the crowd and repair the bridge, which wasn’t seen to be done appropriately. I thank god that my child was saved. It is very difficult for parents like us, residing far away from their children and not having ample financial resources, to visit them often. So, I have decided to take him back, let there be less salary and fewer opportunities back home, but at least he will be under my watch.”
Vijay Yenkar’s story echoes similar themes of ambition interrupted by tragedy. The 32-year-old from Akola had come to Pune as a labour contractor in Chakan MIDC, leaving behind 3 acres of agricultural land in pursuit of better opportunities.
Sunday’s visit to Kundamala was meant to be a brief respite from his hectic work schedule. “Fed up with the routine for over a week, we had come to Kundamala to enjoy the start of the monsoon with his friends,” Yenkar explains. He had arrived around 12:30 pm, and as the day progressed, watched the footfall of tourists steadily increase until disaster struck.
“Being on the edge of the collapsed part, all of my friends were saved,” Yenkar said, though he suffered a fractured right leg and lower back injuries, which have left him thinking about urban life. “After this event, I’m pondering my decision that prompted me to come to Pune in search of a job, leaving my 3 acres of agricultural land back home,” he said.
“If the city is unsafe in multiple aspects such as air pollution, road accidents, and other reasons, which are reducing life expectancy, then there’s no point in staying here. So, I’m planning to have a simple yet healthy life back in Akola.”