Pune: In a heart-wrenching incident, nine-year-old Tanmay Khedkar from Pimpale-Jagtap (Shirur Taluka) lost his life along with his father, Ganesh Khedkar, and younger brother, Shivam, in a road accident. The tragedy unfolded near the spot where Ganesh ran a tea stall, the family’s primary source of livelihood.

Tanmay, a bright and imaginative child, dreamt of building a better future for his family. Despite his young age, he was keenly aware of their struggles and often created models and drawings of his aspirations. He once crafted a house using matchsticks and pencil shavings, a depiction of his dream, and proudly presented it to his schoolteacher. This image has now gone viral, symbolizing the shattered dreams of a young boy.

The Khedkar family relied entirely on the income from Ganesh’s tea stall and the earnings from their two-acre farmland, where Tanmay’s mother, Shilpa, toiled daily. Even at his tender age, Tanmay’s drawings reflected his hopes of providing a better life for his family.

The accident has sparked outrage in the local community. Villagers from Pimple-Jagtap and nearby areas such as Karandi, Wajewadi, and Jategaon Khurd have decided to stage a road blockade on the Chakan-Shikrapur highway following the family’s mourning rituals. They aim to protest against the negligence of the construction department, which they believe caused this preventable tragedy.

MLA Mauli Katke described the incident as extremely unfortunate and assured the community that he would pursue the pending works on the Chakan-Shikrapur road with the Maharashtra State Industrial Development Corporation (MSIDC) and other authorities. Katke emphasized the need for immediate measures to reduce the risk of accidents on the highway.