PATNA: Tall claims by chief minister Nitish Kumar and his officials regarding reduction in road accidents as an impact of prohibition notwithstanding, Bihar has recorded maximum increase in total number of road deaths among all states in the country.
According to a data recently shared by various state governments with Supreme Court-appointed panel on road safety, Bihar registered an increase of 378 road deaths in January-September this year as compared to the same period last year. Altogether 3,733 people had died due to road accidents between January and September in 2016, which increased to 4,111 in the same period this year.
Bihar has witnessed maximum increase in road deaths despite a decline of 5,000 fatalities in the country, which translates into 4.4% fall during three quarters of 2017 (January to September) in comparison to the same period last year.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, has been claiming that road accidents in the state have come down by 20-30%. "Road accidents registered a decline of 19% between April 1 and November 30 after liquor ban in the state. Deaths due to road accidents have declined by 31% during the period," Nitish had said on December 22 last year while addressing a public meeting in Sasaram in Rohtas district during the fifth leg of his Nishchay Yatra. Prohibition in Bihar was imposed on April 5 last year.
With the figures available with apex court's panel telling a different story, the opposition led by RJD has once again termed prohibition a failure. "The CM should stop making false claims about success of prohibition. In reality, it is a complete failure as liquor is easily available. Now, home delivery of liquor has also started," said RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan.
Road construction minister Nand Kishor Yadav, on the other hand, said steps are being taken by the government to reduce road accidents. "As per directives of the central government, we have identified accident prone zones or black spots on the roads across the state and steps are being taken to either repair or make changes in the road engineering at those places to reduce accidents," Nand Kishor said.
As per figures available with Bihar police headquarters, altogether 35,579 people have died in road accidents across the state in the last seven years. The figures amount to an yearly average of 5,082 accident deaths in Bihar. In all these years, around 70,000 accidents were reported to the police and at least 48,543 people were injured in accidents across the state.
Altogether 4,913 persons died in road accidents in Bihar in 2015 and at 4,901, the number was almost the same in 2016. However, the total number of reported accident cases across the state was 9,556 in 2015, which came down to 8,222 last year.
The highest number of road deaths has been registered in Patna. Altogether 433 persons were killed in road accidents in Patna in 2015 and the figure increased to 484 in 2016.
According to a data recently shared by various state governments with Supreme Court-appointed panel on road safety, Bihar registered an increase of 378 road deaths in January-September this year as compared to the same period last year. Altogether 3,733 people had died due to road accidents between January and September in 2016, which increased to 4,111 in the same period this year.
Bihar has witnessed maximum increase in road deaths despite a decline of 5,000 fatalities in the country, which translates into 4.4% fall during three quarters of 2017 (January to September) in comparison to the same period last year.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, has been claiming that road accidents in the state have come down by 20-30%. "Road accidents registered a decline of 19% between April 1 and November 30 after liquor ban in the state. Deaths due to road accidents have declined by 31% during the period," Nitish had said on December 22 last year while addressing a public meeting in Sasaram in Rohtas district during the fifth leg of his Nishchay Yatra. Prohibition in Bihar was imposed on April 5 last year.
With the figures available with apex court's panel telling a different story, the opposition led by RJD has once again termed prohibition a failure. "The CM should stop making false claims about success of prohibition. In reality, it is a complete failure as liquor is easily available. Now, home delivery of liquor has also started," said RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan.
Road construction minister Nand Kishor Yadav, on the other hand, said steps are being taken by the government to reduce road accidents. "As per directives of the central government, we have identified accident prone zones or black spots on the roads across the state and steps are being taken to either repair or make changes in the road engineering at those places to reduce accidents," Nand Kishor said.
As per figures available with Bihar police headquarters, altogether 35,579 people have died in road accidents across the state in the last seven years. The figures amount to an yearly average of 5,082 accident deaths in Bihar. In all these years, around 70,000 accidents were reported to the police and at least 48,543 people were injured in accidents across the state.
Altogether 4,913 persons died in road accidents in Bihar in 2015 and at 4,901, the number was almost the same in 2016. However, the total number of reported accident cases across the state was 9,556 in 2015, which came down to 8,222 last year.
The highest number of road deaths has been registered in Patna. Altogether 433 persons were killed in road accidents in Patna in 2015 and the figure increased to 484 in 2016.
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