Allahabad: 318 people killed in road accidents in six months

ALLAHABAD: Lust for speed has turned city roads into accident magnets, accounting for the maximum number of deaths in Prayagraj range in the past six months.
Of the total 1,577 road accidents between March 1 and August 31 in this police range comprising Allahabad, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Pratapgarh districts, 714 took place in Allahabad alone in which 318 people died and 464 were injured.
To put things in perspective, the number of murders during the same period in the city was 58. The Sangam City also has the highest number of black spots (accident-prone areas) at 98, much higher than Pratapgarh (18) and Kaushambi (12).
The data, made available by police recently, reveal that most of the fatal road accidents in Allahabad took place in peak summer, with March recording the second highest of 68 after June’s 71. There were 59 incidents of blood spill on roads in May and 47 in April. In contrast, the monsoon months of July and August witnessed 35 and 38 accidents, respectively.
Similarly, of the 464 cases where victims only sustained injuries, 98 took place in June, 92 in March, 74 in May and 73 in April. The rainy months saw fewer injuries in comparison — 66 in July and 61 in August.
As many as 850 people lost their lives and 959 were injured in the 1,500-plus accidents in Prayagraj range. After Allahabad, bloodspill on roads was most frequent in Fatehpur (257 deaths and 219 injuries); followed by Pratapgarh (156 deaths and 199 injuries) and Kaushambi (119 deaths and 77 injuries).
DIG (Prayagraj range) KP Singh told TOI that the traffic authorities had initiated fresh measures for strict implementation of road safety rules with the objective to minimise road accidents.
“Violation of speed limits and rash driving are two major reasons behind the rising number of accidents, both in terms of fatal and non-fatal incidents,” Singh said, promising a sustained campaign to check the bloodspill.