The Guntur urban police have decided to ban two-wheelers and autorickshaws on the national highway (NH) passing through its limits.

The move comes in the wake of a sharp rise in road accidents on the stretch between Guntur and Vijayawada.

The police have written to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) requesting them to install boards on the highway signalling the ban which will come into effect soon. The 65-km stretch between Chilakaluripet and Vijayawada has been designated as an express highway and has been witnessing accidents frequently. After the bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, the stretch has witnessed a rise in traffic. Commuters going towards Vijayawada on two-wheelers, unmindful of risks, continue to use the elevated highway.

Persisting risk

The Guntur police have tried to prevent rash driving by autorickshaws by installing speed breakers but to no avail. The number of road accidents registered a spike in 2016 with as many as 312 deaths reported. In 2017, number of deaths were 284, while 862 persons were injured owing to accidents.

The risk involved in driving on the stretch became clear in September 2016 when three persons, including two women, were run over by a speeding truck going towards Vijayawada as they were crossing the road near the railway foot-over bridge at Kolunkonda, after alighting from an autorickshaw.

The police then identified over 300 accident-prone spots on the highway and submitted a report to the NHAI.

“The alarming rise in road accidents is a cause of concern and we have written to the NHAI to implement the ban on two-wheelers and autorickshaws plying on the express highway. The police will soon impose fines and take penal action against violators. There is also a proposal to set up a traffic police station at Mangalagiri,’’ said Ramakrishna, DSP of the north sub-division.