City Patrol Unit being in line of fire for its alleged lapses and excesses alike, State DGP MA Ganpathy said on Thursday that they are considering to deploy the unit on the highways to stop the accident spree. He sounded worried over increasing road accidents happening in different parts of the State. “Things are grim on the roads with people dying almost daily. The trend must be arrested with whatever resources we have at our disposal,” DGP said.
Statistics reveal that there has been marginal increase in the number of road accidents in the state capital, in particular, as well as in other parts of the state. Rash driving, drunk driving and overloading among others are the main reasons leading to road accidents.
Statistics are scary. The comparative data of the accidents compiled over the past four years from January 1 to April 30 revealed that 554 cases of road accidents were reported over the first four months in 2016 while the figures were 473 in 2015 and 421 in 2014.
Statistics further reveal that as many as 313 persons died in the first four months in 2016 while the casualty figures were 302 in 2015 and 264 in 2014. Moreover, 635 persons were injured in the same period of time in 2016 and 480 in 2015 and 416 in 2014.
Statistics further revealed that the four districts- Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital and Dehradun -are bearing the maximum brunt of the road accidents. Ninety two accidents were reported in the first four months in 2016, while the figures are 112 in 2015 and 92 in 2014 in Dehradun. In all, 113 accidents were reported in the same period in 2016 while the figures are 105 in 2015 and 90 in 2014 in Haridwar.
The figure stands at 144 for the same period in 2016 in Udham Singh Nagar while the figures were 116 each in 2015 and 2014.
Observers ascribe the spiraling graph of fatal road accidents to the immense rise in the numbers of vehicles being brought on the roads of Dehradun and other parts of the state. Strict enforcement of traffic rules especially on highway by CPU might result in reduction of accidents in the state, they say.