Lucknow-Agra expressway model may come to Ludhiana

LUDHIANA: Soon, the e-challan model of Lucknow-Agra expressway may be replicated in Ludhiana also. Hi-tech equipment would be installed at different points of the national highway to keep a check on speeding vehicles.
The vehicles found speeding would be issued an e-challan. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), speeding was the major cause of road accident deaths in Ludhiana in 2019, which were even higher than the national average that year under the category.
As per the NCRB data, 365 deaths in 526 road accidents were reported in Ludhiana. Of these, 314 accidents were due to speeding, which resulted in 209 deaths. This means 57.26% of the total deaths in road accidents in the city were due to speeding and the figure is even higher than the national average of 55.2% under this category.
The NCRB data reveals that in the past three years, the number of accidents due to speeding increased. In 2017, 193 road accidents happened due to speeding, in 2018 it increased to 197 and in 2019 to 209.
Joint commissioner of police (traffic) Deepak Pareek said, “Speeding is the major cause of road accidents, especially on national highways. We have two speed radars, one has gone for repairs. Due to the lockdown, checking of speeding vehicles was stopped, but it will resume soon.”
“For a city like Ludhiana, we are planning to replicate the model of Agra-Lucknow expressway. The distance between Lucknow toll plaza and Agra is 302km, which as per the speed limit should take three hours to cover. The hi-tech equipment has been installed to capture the image of the vehicle that covers the distance in less time and these are issued challans. We had taken up the project with the National Highway Authority of India, but they suggested we discuss it with the state government first. We have written to the state government to pass the project, so that we could save precious lives.”
The JCP said, “Another major reason for the accidents on the national highway is people crossing the road from the broken medians and railings. We have written to the NHAI to repair the spots so that people cross only through the foot overbridges.”