This year three road accident cases in which potholes were the main cause have been registered in the state till the month of May in which one person was killed and two were injured. According to the information provided by the State Transport Authority (STA), in the year 2018, 15 such cases were registered in which 56 people lost their lives and 24 were injured.
In the year 2018, the total accidents reported were 1468, in which 1047 people died and 1571 were reportedly injured, out of which 15 road accidents happened due to potholes on roads. This year till the month of May, 571 road accidents have been reported in which 364 people lost their lives and 528 were injured. Out of these mishaps, at least three cases are those in which potholes were the primary cause of accidents.
When asked about this problem, Deputy Inspector General (traffic) Keval Khurana said, “We have given clear directions to all districts to make the department concerned accused also in such road accident cases. Letters to highlight the necessity of road conditions in order to reduce the number of road accidents have also been sent to the departments concerned.”
According to a commuter who works at City Heart Centre on Cross Road said, “I live at Yamuna Colony and take the road from here to Clock Tower and Buddha Chowk. The road after Buddha Chowk is fine but before that, the route is filled with potholes. During monsoon it is impossible to see where the potholes are because of water logging situation and poor condition of street lights.
I have stopped going from there after dark or in water logged situations.” Another commuter from Miyanwala said, “From Mokhampur Flyover to Miyanwala Chowk the road is filled with potholes.
The departmental workers come and fill it sometimes, but one rain washes away the material they fill in those potholes leaving behind a bigger one. Haridwar Road is one of the busiest and important roads in Dehradun, but its condition has remained pathetic. During monsoon accidents happen frequently but no one reports them.”
According to a senior official at STA, the departments concerned such as Municipal Corporation of Dehradun, Public Work Department (PWD) and National Highway have been issued letters number of times, but their pace of work is slow.
While features like potholes on the roads are meant to be repaired before the onset of the monsoon, this has not been done on various city roads in the provisional state capital. Due to this, people continue to face risk and inconvenience while commuting on the city roads.