Frequent road accidents a cause for concern

There should be proper manning of the roads by the traffic police, and proper traffic points on the highways

SNS, SILIGURI, 13 FEBRUARY 2023 : Frequent road accidents on national highways in and around Siliguri have triggered concerns.

Though speeding, reckless driving and riding have been cited as some reason for the recent accidents, the role of the traffic police cannot he overruled, observers in, have said.

Sources said that at least seven persons have died in three separate major road accidents between 6 February and 12 February in the area, with two of the incidents occurring on national highways. 

Three Kalimpong residents were killed when their vehicle hit a tree on National Highway (NH-10 near Salugara at Siliguri only yesterday. Two others were seriously injured in the incident. Police have said that the car had been speeding when it lost control and rammed into a tree near Bengal Safari: North Bengal Wild Animal Park. 

One person died and two others were injured when the motorcycle they had been riding on was knocked down by a lorry at Ambikanagar in Siliguri on 11 February. 

Three persons carrying a patient in an ambulance died and two others were injured when it collided head-on with a lorry on NH-27 at Amaydighi under the NJP police station on 6 February. 

Meanwhile, two residents of Bihar died and five others were injured in a head-on collision of two cars coming from opposite sides on Asian Highway (AH)-11 under the Naxalbari block on 29 January. 

Some motorists are of the opinion that unregulated vehicular traffic, violation of road-safety norms, unauthorised roadside parking and reckless driving had led to a maximum number of accidents. 

"There should be proper manning of the roads by the traffic police, and proper traffic points on the highways. 

Apart from initiating road safety measures, crackdown on reckless driving is the need of the hour to bringdown cases of road accidents," they said. 

There are six traffic guards under the Siliguri police commissionerate. Along with prominent roads like Hill Cart Road, Burdwan Road, Sevoke Road, Eastern Bypass and the Ambari canal road, they cover state and national highways, including a major portion of NH-10, NH-27, NH- 55 and AH-II. 

Senior police officers have, however, claimed that following the launch of the Safe Drive Save Life Campaign in 2016, the number of accidents had come down. 

According to Siliguri Police Commissioner Akhilesh Chaturvedi, they would lay more focus on awareness among the people to check road accidents.