KOCHI: With the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) lax on improving safety measures on the highly-accident-prone Edappally-Aroor NH bypass stretch, the police will henceforth hold the agency’s Kochi Project Director responsible for accidents occurring due to omissions, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic, Law and Order) Arul R.B. Krishna has said.
His name will be arrayed in the First Information Report (FIR) lodged in the aftermath of accidents. The development comes in the wake of two pedestrians waiting on the median to cross the road losing their lives after a lorry lost control and knocked them down at Chalikkavattom Junction near Vyttila on the NH bypass on Wednesday. The lorry reportedly did not slow down at the junction, possibly because there were no pedestrian lines.
Lines painted overnight
Interestingly, the NHAI painted the lines at Chalikkavattom and Chakkaraparambu, another dangerous junction on the bypass, the very next day after the accident. Still, the agency has not asked Kochi-Aroor Tollways Private Limited, its operation, maintenance, and tolling (OMT) contractor for the 16-km-long Edappally-Aroor corridor, to install sign boards warning motorists of pedestrians crossing the busy corridor at frequent intervals.
The OMT contractor firm is bound to maintain the stretch in safe and motorable condition for a nine-year period up to 2024 since it collects sizeable toll from motorists.
Mr. Krishna said the traffic police had shot off letters to the NHAI’s Kochi project office at least six times, demanding pedestrian lines at pedestrian-dense areas, installation of blinkers and boards to warn motorists of pedestrian crossing points, and redesigning/relocation of unscientific road and median cuttings.
The agency has permitted direct entry of vehicles from side roads to the NH bypass at several places, though this is against safety norms. This might be the sole NH corridor passing through a dense urban area which has no barricades, he said.
The NHAI has also not responded to demands from road users and the police that reflectors and street lights be installed on the accident-prone 17-km-long Container Road.
Other departments
Mr. Krishna added that officials of the PWD and civic agencies too would be listed as accused in cases where accidents take place due to faulty road engineering and inadequate safety infrastructure.
