On June 3, last year, Delhi woke up to the news of Gopinath Munde, Union Rural Development Minister, who was declared dead at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Minutes earlier, Mr. Munde (64) was involved in an accident while on his way to the IGI airport, when his car was hit by another vehicle at the Prithviraj road-Tughlak road roundabout. He died of shock and cardiac arrest suffered during the accident.
On his first death anniversary, the International Road Federation (IRF), a Geneva-based global body working worldwide for safer roads, has cautioned the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways against the ‘accident black spots’ in Delhi.
The IRF has listed out 20 black spots – ISBT Kashmere Gate, Punjabi Bagh Chowk, Mukarba Chowk, AIIMS, Bilaspur Chowk , ISBT Anand Vihar, Mahipalpur Chowk, Dhaula Kuan, Rajokri flyover, Shahadra flyover, Nigambodh Ghat, Moti Bagh, Wazirabad Chowk, Peera Garhi Chowk, Shastri Park, Brar Square, Nangloi Chowk, Mukundpur Chowk, Burari Chowk and Ghazipur red light.
K. K. Kapila, IRF chairman, said, “Though there may be many more such accident-prone spots in the city, the fixing of these will help reduce the Capital’s morbid record of losing about 1,900 lives a year. There is also an urgent need to strengthen norms in the Road Safety Bill.” “Around 1.40 lakh people die in road accidents every year. India accounts for more than 10 per cent of the fatal road accidents worldwide,” said IRF.
“The black spots are areas where accidents occur repeatedly. They have also been identified as fatal spots by the Delhi Traffic police as well as the Union Transport Ministry,” said Mr. Kapila.
Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation, said that these are zones which are highly accident-prone due to a combination of factors such as topography, traffic mix, and road engineering.
