Mahendragarh records 15% rise in road accidents in10 months

Contrary to the target of reducing road mishaps this year, Mahendragarh district has recorded a rise of 15 per cent in roadside accidents in the past 10 months (from January to October) of current year as compared to the corresponding period last year.

As per sources, a total of 278 road mishaps have been reported in the district from January to October this year, which claimed lives of 128 people and left 394 others injured while a total of 242 road accidents were registered in the corresponding period of 2023 with the death of 122 people and injuries to 208 persons.

“Over speeding, illegal cuts and lack of sign boards on highways, least strictness in issuing challans against violators of traffic rules are the main reasons behind the road mishaps in Mahendragarh district. The rise in the number of road accidents is indeed a matter of concern,” said Rajesh Kumar, an office-bearer of Road Safety Organisation (RSO).

He said over 15 black spots had been identified in the district, which were prone to road mishaps due to multiple reasons. “The situation gets more risky for driving especially in winter when dense fog reduces the visibility. However, awareness campaigns are being run in educational institutes and other places to motivate the students to follow traffic rules in order to put a check on the road mishaps,” he added.

Rajesh claimed that many persons did not bother to wear helmet while riding two wheelers and to use seat belt while driving four-wheelers. “Such violators should be dealt with strictly by issuing challans against them so that they do not forget to follow traffic rules in future,” he added.

As far as traffic challans are concerned, the district police authorities had issued a total of 702 challans in August. Among them, the highest 144 challans were issued for not wearing helmet, 72 for overspeeding, 19 for driving without seat belt, six for using mobile phone while driving, three for wrong side driving, two for drunken driving and 456 for other violations of the traffic rules, said the sources.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Vivek Bharti said all efforts were being made to bring the count of accidents down in the district.

“The officials concerned have been directed to close all illegal cuts on the highway and draw white lines on all roads in view of foggy season. The National Highways Authority of India and PWD (B&R) officials have also been asked to get the safety audit of their roads done,” he added.