R B Jagadish

Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala (SP)

Karkala, Oct 27: In an accident which occurred at Nallur Gandhinagar here on Wednesday October 26, a cashew industrialist died in a macabre manner. The ill-fated victim has been identified as Madhava Prabhu (45) from Kabettu here.

Prabhu was moving in his Nano car at around 10 am through Nallur road on Wednesday morning to his cashew factory when a Fiat car which came from opposite direction hit his car. The car, after hitting the Nano, shoved it for about six feet from the road. The front portion of Nano car was completely smashed in this accident.

The Fiat car was moving towards Udupi from the direction of Dharmasthala. This car too came to a stop after turning to the reverse direction due to the accident in the middle of the road. Its front portion also turned into a mass of mangled steel.

Madhava Prabhu had suffered severe fracture of his legs and heavy bleeding. With the help of passersby and some locals, he was taken to Pratibha Hospital in the town. Afte providing preliminary treatment there, Prabhu was being taken to a private hospital at Mangaluru for advanced care, when he breathed his last.

The driver of Fiat car, Krishnaraj P H from Dharmasthala, who has been accused of over speeding and reckless driving, too was injured in the accident. He was admitted into a private hospital. A case stands registered against him in the rural police station here.

Unscientific culvert

The stretch of the road between Bajagoli and Hosmar on which this accident occurred falls under the jurisdiciton of public works department (PWD). A culvert has been constructed below this particular spot, and the road therefore is a little elevated from the road level. For vehicles coming from the direction of Hosmar it feels like a sudden upsurge at the spot as a result of which the drivers tend to lose sense of direction. Under such circumstances, any vehicles coming form opposite direction can pose risk of accident. A few accidents because of faulty elevation of road have happened in this area in the past, and some lives were also lost. Tragically, no lessons have been learnt, and one more life was lost.

Madhava Prabhu was known from altruism and responding to social causes. Bajagoli Gayatri Prabhu, a social activists, informed that Prabhu used to identify students from poor families and extend financial assistance to them for continuing their education.