Keonjhar: Road mishaps have become a daily affair on state highways and national highways 49 and 20, traversing through Keonjhar district. They have virtually turned into death traps for motorists and pedestrians.
The rate of road casualties can be gauged from the fact that 333 people have died in 674 casualties in 2019 while the number of human casualties in the last five years has been put at 1,423 in the district.
The road mishaps on the highways have almost become a daily ritual with miserable road conditions being a major factor for these mishaps. According to police sources, the district recorded 639 road mishaps and 316 casualties in 2018.
Various quarters have been expressing grave concerns over growing cases of accidents and casualties. In the last five years, the district recorded 2,943 mishaps and 1,423 deaths. About 1,400 people were wounded in the period.
The breakup of human casualties in road accidents is 238 in 2013, 246 in 2014, 208 in 2015, 234 in 2016 and 312 in last year. In 1917, 592 accidents occurred while 312 people died in the district.
Unregulated vehicular traffic, violation of the road safety norms and unauthorised roadside parking have all contributed to the rise in the mishaps, said official sources.
Human settlements, educational institutions, busy market places and vegetable shops are located by the side of the highways. Some intellectuals and conscious citizens pointed out that as a result, these areas have emerged as accident-prone zones. Apart from initiating the road safety measures, crackdown on reckless driving is the need of the hour to bring down the cases of road accidents. These apart, the accident rate could be brought down if the highways are upgraded to double-lane.
Over-speeding, overloading of minerals and materials, and drunken driving have been also attributed to the spurt in the mishaps.
The district administration should stress on placing the basic road safety measures in the accident-prone zones on the highways.
Keonjhar RTO Nirmal Kumar Mohanty said, “Strict traffic laws have been enforced these days while violators are being penalised.” Awareness campaigns are being conducted about traffic rules and safety measures for driving, he concluded.