91 die in road accidents in 5 years on the stretch; road safety campaign gains steam
Special Correspondent
KOCHI
A road safety campaign titled “Iniyum Vypeenkara Karayaruthu” (Vypeen must weep no more) has been widely received by motorists and others, especially so in the wake of a whopping number of 91 persons dying in road accidents on the 27-km Vypeen-Munambam State highway during the past five years. They include children and pedestrians.
Another 924 motorists were injured in accidents on the narrow but congested and heavily encroached upon corridor during the period, making it amongst the most accident-prone roads in the State.
The road safety campaign covering six panchayats in Vypeen was initiated a week ago at the behest of K.N. Unnikrishnan MLA. “The focus now is on creating awareness about road safety, mainly through classes led by enforcement personnel and through distribution of pamphlets. Approximately, 50,000 people have been covered under this,” he said.
Police and MVD personnel, residents’ associations, local bodies and cooperative banks are part of the safety drive.
“The awareness programmes will be followed by enforcement of road safety norms. Already, the Thiruvananthapuram-based NATPAC is engaged in a study of measures to be taken to prevent accidents on the stretch, as part of a ₹36-crore World Bank-aided initiative taken up under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP ). The recommendations include readying of 15 bus bays, construction of drains, laying of cover slabs over existing drains, painting of zebra lines, widening of junctions and installation of barricades to prevent jaywalking. Keltron is expected to install cameras,” Mr. Unnikrishnan added.
The PWD, which owns the road, and local bodies are expected to clear encroachments and ready pay-and-park facilities, while around 800 LED street lights will be installed, it is learnt.
“The width of the narrow highway has been further choked by encroachments, shops displaying their wares well into the road and unauthorised parking on both sides of the stretch. Half the problem can be solved if this issue is taken care of,” said Vinod Kumar, Motor Vehicle Inspector of N. Paravur sub-RTO office, who is involved in the safety initiative.
The situation is such that people are parking vehicles over the recently-widened bridges on the stretch. There is also dire need to widen footpaths on either side, since the pedestrian density is very high, he said.
Accidents due to reckless driving by private buses have been a major contributor to the high fatality figure on the corridor. The ongoing campaign also focuses on creating awareness about the effects of drug addiction.
Addressing an awareness class recently, retired Judge of Kerala High Court, K.K. Dineshan, termed reckless driving as an anti-social act. “It is high time people stopped glorifying people who broke rules. Awareness programmes must go hand in hand with augmenting road infra,” he said.
