Burari-Bhalswa to be a zero-fatality corridor

NEW DELHI: The stretch of Outer Ring Road between Burari Chowk and Bhalswa Chowk, not more than three kilometres long, is arguably the capital’s deadliest, claiming 67 lives last year. It is this killer stretch that the Delhi government has chosen for a proposed ‘zero fatality corridor’.
As part of its Road Safety Policy, the government has chosen the stretch as a pilot project, the success of which is expected to be replicated at other similar traffic ‘black spots’ in the city. The government plans to reduce fatalities due to road crashes by 50% by next year and to zero fatalities by March 2021. The Delhi government has signed a memorandum of understanding with SaveLIFE Foundation, which will help the government carry out road crash investigations and suggest counter measures to reduce road crashes.

Speaking at a road safety workshop — ‘Reclaiming streets of Delhi with the global street design guide’ — Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation said the objective is to turn it from the deadliest to the safest in the city.

“The average national figure of fatalities per kilometre is 0.5 in a year, while the average for this particular stretch is as high as 11 deaths per kilometre per year,” he said.

Tewari said that as part of the initiative, each road crash on this stretch would be investigated to find out the exact causes and also come up with counter measures.

Tewari said that while there are three hospitals in the vicinity, not even a single ambulance is deployed near the stretch to provide timely medical help.

“We have to get police enforcement aligned with the project also. Delhi Police will give us a call as soon as an accident occurs so that we can immediately visit the spot to investigate,” he said.

According to Delhi Traffic Police, the major reason behind the high number of crashes on this stretch is due to the mix of heavy vehicles moving at high speed on the Outer Ring Road, along with large number of pedestrians, two wheelers and slow moving vehicles merging with this high-speed traffic after emerging from the narrow roads coming out of the residential areas nearby. The heavily congested areas along this stretch also witnesses heavy pedestrian movements and the highest number of casualties involves pedestrians at this stretch.

“Delhi witnessed 1,600 fatalities last year and our target is zero fatalities in a year,” state PWD minister Satyendar Jain said at the workshop. Jain also said that the Delhi government is planning bus interchange points for the safety of bus passengers and pedestrians.