Bhubaneswar: Despite claims of heightened road safety measures, the rising number of road accidents and consequent fatalities in Odisha continue to be a cause of concern. Over the last two days, four persons have lost their lives in separate accidents in Bhubaneswar.
In the latest incident, a person was hit by an unknown vehicle near Palasuni area of the capital city. After he fell on the road, two more speeding trucks ran over him, leading to his death on the spot. While police reached the spot and recovered the body, his identity was not known till filing of this report.
Palasuni square has gradually turned into an accident-prone zone. The area is located close to a busy bus stop, and witnesses heavy pedestrian traffic. In view of the increasing number of accidents in the region, construction of a foot overbridge is underway.
Road Transport Expert Maqbal Ali said, "The accidents can be attributed to the highway overbridge slope and the nearby service road. In such high-risk zones, it is important to regulate traffic on both the sides of the road. Also, barricades should be installed between the two roads so that pedestrians do not cross the road. There is also a need of installing proper signage or flashlights, i.e. a yellow light that flashes. A foot overbridge would help prevent the accidents to a great extent."
In another mishap on Friday, three people lost their lives at Gohira square in the Infovalley area here. A vehicle with Maharashtra registration plate, enroute to Puri from Maharashtra, met with an accident, resulting in death of one Bishwa Chetan Mishra of Puri's Atharanala area, Bishwaranjan Sethi of Chandanpur's Pratap Sasanpur and Prashant Pradhan of Baliput.
3717 Dead, 3401 Injured In Last 8 Months
In response to a question by BJD MLA Arun Sahoo in the Assembly, state Transport Minister stated between June 2024 and February 20, 2025, 3717 people have lost their lives and 3401 persons sustained serious injuries in road accidents in the state. Odisha witnessed as many as 6327 major and minor accidents during the period.
The government report mentioned that 918 accidents have occurred due to overspeeding, 1052 accidents occurred due to reckless driving, while 46 mishaps were result of drunk driving. Around 4677 accidents were reported due to other reasons.
The transport Minister further highlighted that in case of mishaps resulting in death of three or more people, an expert team is assigned to conduct a probe, the report of which is submitted to district administration(s), police, transport department and road construction firms for necessary corrective measures. The government also stated in the Assembly that various other steps are being taken to prevent mishaps and bring down the road fatalities.
Last month, 'Road Safety Week' was observed to raise an awareness among the people about accidents. Despite public awareness programmes and strategic measures for a safer transport system across the state, incidents of road mishaps continue to climb. Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Ganjam, Cuttack, Khordha and Sambalpur have been identified as accident-prone districts. Shockingly, 67 percent of accidents have been attributed to overspeeding; i.e., driving vehicles at more than the prescribed speed limit. On the other hand, 50 percent of two-wheeler accidents occurred when people didn't wear a helmet.
Major causes of accidents as identified by experts:
- Drunk driving
- Road construction or engineering faults
- Poor weather conditions
- Driving at more than permissible speed limit
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