Nagpur: Aimed at boosting prosperity of Maharashtra in general and Vidarbha in particular, the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg was built. But this highway is turning out to be a highway of accidents instead of prosperity. It has been 100 days since the highway was opened, during which 900 accidents have been reported, in which 31 people have died.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Nagpur to Shirdi Samriddhi Highway on December 11, 2022, which was the first phase of Samruddhi Mahamarg. This highway has completed 100 days on March 21. Meanwhile, 900 minor and major accidents took place on the highway.
Shockingly, it has been revealed that 46 percent of accidents occurred due to technical reasons. 15 percent of accidents are due to tire puncture. 12 percent of accidents are due to burst tires. A study conducted by Regional Transport Office of Maharashtra government revealed that these accidents had claimed 31 lives till March 20, 2023.
Many wild animals also died:
Common citizens lost their lives while wild animals were also injured in these accidents. Most of the wild animals have also lost their lives due to vehicle collisions. Therefore, there is a need to take a decision regarding the movement of wild animals on this highway.
Taking note of this, the authorities have now decided to introduce mandatory counselling of drivers at all entry points of the expressway.
According to a media report, on Tuesday, State Transport Department and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) officials held a review meeting. A day before chairing the meeting, Deputy Transport Commissioner Bharat Kalaskar travelled around 500 km to inspect the expressway.
It was decided in the meeting that mandatory counselling of drivers would be organised at all eight entry points of the expressway. The focus of the counselling will be on curbing overspeeding. For this, eight counselling centres will be set up on the Nagpur-Shirdi section. The centres, one in each district, will be set up in the next seven days. There will be 30 minutes to 1 hour counselling sessions for drivers by RTO officials to curtail overspeeding, which has resulted in the highest number of accidents.
The counselling session will begin with a short film on road safety, which will be followed by a question paper solving by the driver and a pledge to not indulge in dangerous driving. The drivers will also be given information about the dangers of under/over-inflated and worn out tyres.
During the meeting, several instructions were also given to the MSRDC for installing awareness boards regarding road safety.
As per the analysis of accident data of Samruddhi Mahamarg from December 11, 2022 to March 20, 2023, mechanical breakdowns due to overspeeding of vehicles accounted for over 400 accidents.
Punctures and tyre bursts had led to over 130 and 108 accidents, respectively. Similarly, vehicles running out of fuel contributed to 14% (126) accidents on the portion of the expressway opened for traffic.
Though no separate data was shared, according to the study, tail-end accidents, drivers falling asleep, mechanically unfit vehicles and animal entry were among the major causes of accidents on the Samruddhi Mahamarg.
