Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The city has witnessed a 35 per cent surge in the number of road accident fatalities in the first six months of the year. According to the data provided by the Bhopal traffic police, 131 people have lost their lives in road accidents from January to June.
The tally during the same period in 2023 stood at 97, marking a 35 per cent rise. A grimmer concern is that a majority of such accidents have occurred in the areas, which are miles away from black spots identified by the traffic police in March this year. The data further revealed that close to 1,100 people have sustained grievous injuries in road accidents till June this year.
More worrying is the fact that till June, the traffic police had achieved a new milestone by penalising as many as 49,000 people for flouting traffic norms such as speeding, not wearing helmets and seat-belts as well as wrong side driving. Despite efforts by the traffic police, road accidents and the fatalities due to them have gone unrestrained.
.png)
Misrod sees most of accidents
Misrod, which is on the eighth number under the list of black spots identified by the traffic police, has seen 20 road accident fatalities in the first six months of the year. This is followed by Koh-e-fiza, which recorded as many as 17 road accident deaths. The third spot on the list was Bairagarh, where 15 people died after meeting road accidents. Notably, out of the 14 black spot areas, Koh-e-fiza and Bairagarh are nowhere on the list. Some other localities which recorded 9 to 10 accidents during the said period include Piplani, Chhola and Karond areas respectively.
‘People must drive responsibly’, Says Additional DCP
Additional DCP (traffic) Basant Kaul said despite reins being tightened by the traffic police, the surge in road accidents fatalities is due to people’s negligence. He added that commoners must realise the importance of responsible riding/driving to save their lives, as well as others’ lives.
