In 13 years, 5,684 lives lost due to road mishaps in Gurugram

Gurugram: Mentioning it as a major achievement, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar recently highlighted that how under the flagship programme of Haryana Zero there has been a seven per cent reduction in accidents in Haryana.

The Progress of these figures according to the Chief Minister was also felt in Gurugram that witnesses the highest number of accidents in the state.

Challenges however galore for the officials and the commuter who has to still pass through the deadly routes of Gurugram on a daily basis.

In 2019 itself there have been over 211 deaths that have occurred in Gurugram.

Moreover, from the year 2006-2019, there have been 5,684 deaths on city roads and 12,000 injuries in all on Gurugram roads. Most of the accidents have occurred on Delhi-Jaipur Highway.

In 2006 there were 387 deaths that were caused due to road accidents. From thereon not a single year has passed since the death figures have been less than at least 400 with 1000 accidents happening on city roads every year.

In 2013 Gurugram saw one of its worse years in deaths caused due to road mishaps with 490 deaths and 1200 injuries. Despite 2,000 police officials being deployed on city roads to maintain the safety and security of its residents, the challenge remained with 1075 accidents reported in 2018 leading to 442 deaths.

Even though the data was alarming, the figure was reasonably lower than 2017 where there was a total of 1400 accidents leading to 481 deaths.

According to officials the Delhi-Jaipur expressway popularly known as National Highway -8 accounts to 70 per cent of the deadly mishaps in the city. To reduce the number of accidents various surveys have been conducted by the officials to find out how the mishaps can be reduced.

According to officials, there have been 17 dark spots that have been identified by Gurugram traffic police. These stretches are main routes that extend beyond Kherki Dhaual and include areas like Daruhera and Manesar. Besides, fast-moving vehicles where average speed can go up to 100 kilometres to 120 kilometres, the presence of heavy vehicles makes this route treacherous for commuters.

It is estimated that two out of three accidents at Delhi-Jaipur highway is caused by heavy vehicles.

Various studies that have been conducted on the drivers have revealed that more than 50 per cent of the drivers of the trucks has poor eyesight.

Officials also indicate that the visibility further decreased during driving heavy vehicles. Other factors resulting in the deadly mishap are fatigue, overspeeding, drunken driving and overloading.

Taking cognisance of the problem the authorities have come up with several initiatives to deal with the problem. Among these initiatives are installing of speed detector cameras, taking action against overloaded vehicles and stationing more traffic officials at the Delhi -Jaipur highway.

In the recent past even as a lot of work has been done by Gurugram police in improving the road infrastructure, lack of facilities for pedestrians continue to make the most vulnerable. Pedestrians and two-wheelers lead among the number of casualties due to accidents.

According to an official date in the last three years from 2016-2018, there have been 545 deaths of pedestrians. In 2018 168 people who were walking on the roads lost their lives.

In a city where eight people on an average die daily due to road accidents, a major complaint about long has been that how facilities like footpaths and Foot over bridges are not being set up by the urban planners.

The Gurgram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has tied up with the School of Planning and Architecture to design a comprehensive mobility plan for the city. Improving road designs that can aid in reducing the number of accidents will also be mulled over in the proposal.