The number of annual deaths in Calcutta because of road accidents has declined by 50 per cent within five years, according to a report published by the ministry of road transport and highways on Monday.
The number of road accident deaths has come down from 407 in 2016 to 196 in 2021, according to the report, Road Safety Good Practices in India, published in Delhi by Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road transport and highways.
The report was prepared by the Union ministry of road transport and highways along with SaveLIFE Foundation, a non-government organisation that works for road safety across India.
“Interventions across the 4E’s (engineering, enforcement, emergency care and education) were implemented in the city (Calcutta), which resulted in a 51.8% reduction in deaths from 2016-2021,” the report mentions.
According to Calcutta police records, the number of deaths because of road accidents has further gone down to 185 in 2022.
The report mentions that 50 per cent of the road crashes that were reported in Calcutta between 2016 and 2021 were caused by “engineering deficiencies” — such as poor road markings and signage (18 per cent), poor pedestrian infrastructure and crossings (18 per cent) and poor intersection design (14 per cent).
“This timely report by SaveLIFE Foundation, with support from the World Bank Group and MoRTH (ministry of road transport and highways), aims to chart a safer course for India’s roadways. Its comprehensive analysis will serve as a resource for policymakers, administrators and stakeholders to identify and replicate strategies that have been effective in reducing road crash deaths…” Gadkari said while launching the report.
The report attributed the decline in the number of road fatalities to the “Safe Drive Save Life” campaign, which was launched by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in 2016.
“Kolkata city, the capital of West Bengal with an area of 1,480 square km, witnessed a total of 4,561 crashes in 2014. Interventions across the 4 E’s of road safety, enabled the city to reduce the number of road crash deaths by 51.8% between 2016 and 2021. The Safe Drive, Save Life Campaign (SDSL) is a significant step towards the Government’s Vision to create a safe road network for all road users in the State to achieve a ‘zero fatality figure’ in the long run,” the report, which includes road accident data from across the country, says in a chapter on road accidents in Calcutta.
Gadkari, during the launch of the report, asked the Save Life Foundation to share their findings and recommendations with the states for necessary action.
The report says, citing national statistics of road accidents across India in 2021, that 1,53,000 people had died in more than 4,13,000 road accidents. Over 3,85,000 people were injured in the accidents.
“On an average, India witnessed 1,130 road crashes and 422 deaths every day, translating to 47 crashes and 18 deaths every hour,” the report says.
