79-year-old woman run over by PMPML bus inside Hadapsar depot in Pune, dies

A bus of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) ran over a 79-year-old woman inside the Hadapsar Gadital bus depot in Pune on Thursday morning. The bus is alleged to have been driven negligently. The accident took place on October 30, 2026, and the woman died. It has once again raised questions about reckless driving by bus drivers and the functioning of the transport body's administration.

The deceased has been identified as Kamlabai Dadu Londhe, a resident of the Camp area. Her son, Surendra Londhe, has filed a police complaint. The accident happened at around 11.45 am. Hadapsar police have detained the bus driver, Tushar Devidas Kamthe, and registered a case against him.

According to Senior Inspector Hemant Patil, Londhe was standing in the depot premises when a speeding PMPML bus travelling from Hinjewadi to Bhekrai Nagar hit her. She was trapped under the bus. People nearby rushed to the spot, pulled her out and took her to Sassoon General Hospital. However, her injuries were so serious that doctors declared her dead before treatment could begin.

Shiv Sena's Pune city chief Pramod alias Nana Bhangire expressed anger over the incident. He asked how many more lives the administration would wait to lose before acting. He said Londhe was run over at Hadapsar Gadital by a bus of PMPML's Bhekrai Nagar depot. He alleged that lives had been lost in such accidents earlier too, yet the transport body had not taken adequate steps to improve matters.

Bhangire also asked whether PMPML had any control over drivers hired through private contractors, and whether the administration would wake up only after more people lost their lives.

The fatal accident has also exposed the state of traffic management at the Hadapsar Gadital chowk. Congestion there keeps growing because of PMPML buses, heavy vehicles and unauthorised auto-rickshaw stands along the roadside.

Local residents allege that bus and auto-rickshaw drivers often break traffic rules while the traffic police do not take enough action. Buses leaving the Hadapsar depot add to the crowding at the chowk, leaving vehicles entangled. Residents have demanded that the signals at the chowk be kept on for at least 10 seconds to keep vehicle movement under control.

Traffic officials said bus drivers are regularly instructed to follow traffic rules and that action is taken when complaints are received. They also said that if any driver is found breaking the rules, the traffic police should take appropriate legal action.

The accident comes just after another serious one about 10 days ago on the Gadital-Saswad road, near the gate of the Gliding Centre. A PMPML bus had hit a young woman riding a two-wheeler from behind. She suffered a serious leg injury and her leg eventually had to be amputated. She had been preparing for police recruitment, but the accident shattered her dream.

Local residents and political representatives allege that despite repeated accidents, PMPML drivers continue to drive buses negligently, and that both the transport body's administration and the traffic police have failed to fix accountability.