Despite best of efforts to give a fillip to road safety, at least two persons lose their lives in road accidents every day in Medak district.
Careless driving, parents allowing children below 18 years to drive motorcycles, driving on the wrong side of the road, drunken driving, over-speeding and reckless crossing on highways are reasons cited by the police as the cause of accidents on NH-44 and NH-65 besides arterial Rajiv Rahadari.
As many as 124 road accidents took place in Medak district in the past one month, resulting in 69 deaths and injuries to as many as 147 persons. While the Toopran-Nagpur road (NH-44) witnessed 13 accidents, nine deaths and 17 injuries, the NH-65 Mumbai Highway witnessed 28 accidents, 16 deaths and 55 persons getting injured. Rajiv Rahadari saw as many as13 accidents and seven deaths while eight persons were injured in these accidents.
Medak Superintendent of Police Semushi Bajpai says Rajiv Rahadari, that connects Hyderabad with Adilabad district via Karimnagar is not straight. “There are so many sharp curves, ups and downs that lead to accidents. Some roads leading to the highway are the cause of accidents,” he pointed out.
Police officials point out that high-end luxury vehicles are involved in majority of the accidents due to their sheer speed. People do not bother about road safety and don’t wear seat belts, which often leads to death in case of accident.
“Pragnapur, Rimmanaguda, Rane Break liners, Mutrajpalli T- Junction Ontimamidi, Mulugu Juctions, Kunoorpally and Kondapaka have earned notoriety for frequent accidents. “People as well as cattle, unaware of the speed of the vehicles, come on to the roads, leading to accidents. We too are terrified by the speed of the vehicles that ply on the highways,” says Gajwel CI Amrutha Reddy. Even Toopran, Ramayampet on NH-44, Digwal, Kohir, Zaheerabad and Patancheru on NH-65 are accident prone spots in the district.
A police officer lamented that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials rarely cooperate with the police in taking required steps like fixing radium stickers at sharp curves and bends. At several dangerous stretches, warning boards are not erected.
“Though the Government of India suggested that there should be one trauma care centre for every 60 km of National Highway, there is not a single centre in Medak and we are forced to shift patients who meet with serious accidents to Hyderabad,” said an official of the medical department.
