Killer roads: District’s accident death rate saw 28% rise in 2021

Ludhiana: Road accident death rate per million population (or health burden due to road accidents) in Ludhiana in 2021 was the worst in the past three years, a recent report of the state government has revealed, thus raising serious concerns over road safety in the district.
At 160, health burden due to accidents recorded an increase of 28% in 2021 as compared to 2020, when the rate stood at 125. According to ‘Punjab Road Accidents and Traffic Report-2021’, the death rate in 2019 was 129.

Ludhiana was ranked 7th among the districts in Punjab as far as accident fatalities per million of population was concerned. While Ropar was number one in ranking with a value of 259, Nawanshahr was number two in the list with 255 road accident deaths per million population. Amritsar had lowest health burden due to traffic among districts with a value of 78 accident deaths per million population.
Punjab traffic adviser Navdeep Asija said as compared to population, Ludhiana district doesn’t have adequate road infrastructure. He said even as Ludhiana is growing economically, supportive transportation infrastructure is still a missing link in the city. Asija said safe transportation system includes public transport system, para transit system (auto-rickshaw, e-rickshaw, hand-driven rickshaw).
A road safety expert said Ludhiana’s figure is a cause of concern. Kamaljit Soi, a road safety expert and a member of National Road Safety Council, said the figure for the world is around 11 road fatalities per lakh population, but for Ludhiana it is 16 per lakh population which is much higher. He said the scenario can be corrected by enforcement of traffic rules, scientific challaning (especially for speeding, rash driving and drunken driving) and laying proper road safety infrastructure.