In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Delhi government said it will develop a four-kilometre stretch of road in north Delhi as a “zero fatality corridor”.

The stretch between Burari chowk to Bhalswa chowk, which officials said was accident-prone, will be taken up under the pilot project, officials said.

For this, the Delhi government’s transport department has roped in ‘Save Life Foundation’ — which has been working on improving road safety — to scientifically assess the cause for crashes on this stretch and suggest safety measures.

Since January 2011 till date, there have been over 13,350 fatal accidents across the city. Every year, there are at least 1,700 persons killed in road accidents in Delhi.

“This is a pilot project and our aim is to bring down the fatalities to zero on this particular stretch. We will replicate the model in other parts of the city,” said Jasmine Shah, vice-chairman of Dialogue and Development Commission, Delhi government.

Reiterating his government’s commitment to making city roads safe, PWD minister Satyendar Jain said, “We need to make our roads safe for pedestrians. This can be achieved through street design.” Jain was speaking at an event organised by Save Life Foundation to discuss Global Street Design Guide along with Jenette Sadik-Khan, chair of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Global Designing Cities Initiative.

This project is part of the Delhi government’s road safety policy, which was finalised earlier this year. Shah said, “We have prepared an annual action plan under which a set of activities will be taken up. This year, we have started work on the Burari-Bhalswa chowks.”

The stretch between Burari Chowk and Bhalswa Chowk was taken up, as it is one of the stretches with very high fatality figures. “Last year, 67 deaths were reported on this stretch — about 11 deaths per kilometre each year, which is a high figure,” Piyush Tiwari, chief executive officer of Save Life Foundation, said. The work on the project will start in the next few days.

As part of the project, the Save Life Foundation will scientifically investigate the crashes that occur on this stretch. “Our team will go to the accident spot and assess the reasons for the crash based on the information from the crash site, injuries sustained by the victim and damage to the vehicle,” Tiwari, who is doing a similar project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, said.

To begin with, data of past crashes will be analysed to figure out accident-prone spots. “The objective of this is to resolve the problem through road engineering, better medical response and police enforcement. In the next 18 months, we aim to bring down the fatalities by 50% and to zero by 2021,” he said.

Based on the findings, the government will take measures on the ground to improve the traffic movement and make it safe for pedestrians and motorists.

As part of the project, the foundation will also train transport officials in crash investigation. “We will train four officials in crash investigation which could be increased to 15 so that each district in Delhi has one trained officer,” Tiwari said.

First Published: Dec 04, 2018 15:35 IST