Noida, Ghaziabad see spike in road accidents this year — higher than state average: Data

Data shows that 828 accidents have been registered in Ghaziabad till October this year as compared to 720 in the same period in 2022.

Similarly, in Gautam Buddh Nagar, 960 accidents were registered till October this year as compared to 897 cases in the same period last year.

If we look at deaths, data shows a very slight decline in Ghaziabad: 301 people lost their lives in accidents till October as compared to 306 deaths in 2022. In Gautam Buddh Nagar, till October, 385 people died in the district, an increase of around 9% when compared to last year when 354 died.

Data also shows the number of those injured in these accidents has increased by over 15% in Ghaziabad. While 599 people were injured this year, 519 people were injured last year. In Gautam Buddh Nagar, 689 people were injured in accidents this year (till October) compared to 680 injuries last year.

According to Anil Kumar Yadav, DCP (Traffic), Gautam Buddh Nagar, “Efforts are on to reduce accident cases through awareness, training and enforcement. Last month, during our special drive, about 65,000 people were made aware (about traffic laws) through street plays, meetings, seminars, etc.”

He further said, “Last month, more than 2.50 lakh challans were issued and a fine of around Rs 60 lakh was imposed. A fine of about Rs 3 lakh was also collected in November. A total of around 17 lakh vehicles have been challaned so far this year, and a fine of around Rs 1 crore has been collected. Besides, 700 vehicles causing environmental pollution have also been seized.”

He added that there are a total of 15 black spots (accident-prone areas) in the district and four have been rectified by the ARTO, PWD, and related development authorities. Work is underway on the others.

Similarly, there are 18 black spots in Ghaziabad — 6 are on National Highways (NH 9 & DME), 5 on State Highways (SH 117), and 7 on other roads in the district.

“To reduce the number of accidents, the long-term plan is rectification of blackspots; agencies concerned are working towards this. In the interim, we run special enforcement drives to issue challans and make citizens aware. We are also installing signboards, rumble strips, retro-reflective safety devices, cat’s eye or road studs, solar blinkers, road markings etc. In accident cases, the golden hour is very important — the injured person should be immediately admitted to a good hospital such as a trauma centre in an hour,” said Ramanand Kushwaha, Additional DCP (Traffic), Ghaziabad.Last Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath chaired a meeting of the State Road Safety Council and directed that work on short- and long-term rectification of black spots identified on the routes under the PWD, state highways, and NHAI should be completed as soon as possible.

“Apart from poor road engineering, major factors responsible for accidents are over-speeding, overloading, non-use of safety equipment, and driving under the influence of alcohol. Efforts should be made to reduce road accidents by focusing on cities connected to expressways or national highways,” said the CM.