After median fencing,accidents on Expressway record a dip

Ever since the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) put up median fencing across the 27.5-kilometre stretch and constructed two foot-overbridges between Shankar Chowk and IFFCO Chowk on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway...

Ever since the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) put up median fencing across the 27.5-kilometre stretch and constructed two foot-overbridges between Shankar Chowk and IFFCO Chowk on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway,the number of pedestrian accidents has gone down drastically.

Though the NHAI has issued the completion certificate to the concessionaire DSC Ltd 18 months after the Expressway became functional since January 2008,the stretch remains perilous for lakhs of commuters travelling due to lack of safety norms.

The Gurgaon police have come out with a list of around 50 victims who have lost their lives since January this year on request of one K S Anand who lost his 19-year-old son Rahul Anand in an accident in March this year.

Ironically,the list does not have the name of Rahul Anand (FIR no- 62,DLF phase II,March 7,2009).

All these accidents have been booked under Sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way),337(causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code.

When asked if the last section had been invoked against the concessionaire or against NHAI whose negligence led to the deaths of numerous pedestrians,the Commissioner of Police,Gurgaon,S S Deswal,said that no such case was booked against the either.

We have impounded several vehicles and arrested the drivers involved in causing the deaths, the police commissioner said. He added that there has been a remarkable drop in such accidents in the past few months after precautionary measures were taken up.

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Asked why the police had not booked DSC Ltd,the chief explained that it was difficult to fix a criminal liability. We cant say it is a positive connivance by the company, he said.

Since both NHAI and the private company were sharing their monetary profits,it was their responsibility to provide a financial compensation to all victims who lost their lives on this stretch,explained a senior officer of Gurgaon police who wished not to be named.

Earlier,in a reply to an RTI filed by K S Anand who lost his 19-year-old son,Rahul Anand in an accident in March this year,the NHAI had said that the number of accidents on the stretch was 1,700 since January 2008. Of these 100 were deaths,while the rest were serious injuries. However,the Gurgaon police and the district administration maintain that the number of deaths is much higher at 140. Surprisingly though,neither the Concessionaire nor the NHAI have any list regarding those killed on this stretch (a clause clearly mentioned in their Agreement).

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