Nagpur: While the recently occurred Mercedes accident on Ram Jhula, which cut short two innocent lives, causing tremendous outrage among Nagpurians, has again exposed the menace of rash driving; alarming statistics have come to the fore, with a total of 1,271 lives lost in road accidents in Nagpur in the last five years.
As per the data released by Nagpur Police, it reveals that in 2019, a total of 233 people died in road accidents, while the numbers witnessed a drop to 195 in 2020 due to novel Coronavirus outbreak.
The numbers of casualties rose again in 2021 with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, resulting in 255 people losing their lives to various accidents.
The years 2022 and 2023 witnessed a significant rise in the numbers of casualties, with 294 people losing their lives for these two consecutive years.
In total, 1,271 lives were lost in road accidents in the last five years in the Second Capital of the State.
Accidents in last five years are as follows:
According to police, the reasons for these accidents include pedestrians walking on roads instead of footpaths, overspeeding, distractions to the driver, signal jumping, avoiding safety gear like seat belts and helmets, wrong-side driving, reckless driving, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, using mobile phones while driving, overtaking in a wrong manner, potholes on roads, and carrying excess passengers in auto-rickshaws and other public transport vehicles beyond capacity.
Alarmed by the high number of fatalities in road accidents, Commissioner of Police Dr. Ravinder Singal has decided to crack down on violators. The top cop of the city has appealed to citizens to inform him on his cell number 7385982212 if they come across any traffic violations across Nagpur.
The Traffic Department of Nagpur Police is coordinating with the Public Works Department, National Highway Authority of India, and other concerned authorities for installing signboards, painting zebra crossings, and stop lines at all squares.
While the city is grappling with prolonged development works, the Commissioner of Police has now decided to take matters into his own hands to streamline traffic. Let’s hope that Ironman CP ensures smooth traffic flow while saving the lives of motorists on Nagpur roads!
– Shubham Nagdeve
