There has been a spurt in road accident cases as compared to last year in the State. Around 1,210 road accidents were reported where 753 persons died and 1,355 were seriously injured from January 1 to November 15, 2014 in various parts of the State.

Around 270 cases of road accidents were reported from Dehradun district while the figure was 280 in Haridwar, 320 in Udham Singh Nagar and 170 in Nainital.  However, mishaps were few in the mountainous districts when juxtaposed against those in the plains. The figure for Bageshwar, was three, 12 for Champawat, 11 for Pithoragarh, 10 for Almora, 18 for Uttarkashi, 40 for Tehri, 45 for Chamoli, 23 for Rudraprayag and 17 for Pauri.

Statistics received from PHQ revealed that around 270 road accidents were reported from Dehradun district alone where 130 persons died and 248 were seriously injured. Around 320 road accidents were reported from Udham Singh Nagar where 198 persons died and 218 were seriously injured. Around 280 road accidents were reported from Haridwar district where 157 persons died and 232 were seriously injured.

Around 170 road accidents were reported from Nainital where 82 persons died and 143 were seriously injured.   A total of 244 cases of road accidents were reported in the last year in Dehradun while 249 in Haridwar, 149 in Nainital and 313 in Udham Singh Nagar. Critics opined that accidents are on the rise, notwithstanding the official claim of initiatives being taken to control things. Drunk driving accounts for a big share of such mishaps in Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital and elsewhere in the State.

“Driving in an inebriated state has become an anathema for the people. Unless it is reined in effectively accidents would continue taking toll of lives,” said an observer.