Representative image showing a vehicle damaged in a road accident
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: With Karnataka witnessing over 11,000 deaths due to road accidents in the previous fiscal, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah pulled up officials on Tuesday and said the government will not tolerate their negligence leading to loss of lives.
Road safety came up during the second day of Siddaramaiah’s review meeting with deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat CEOs.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, the state saw 43,780 road accidents in which 11,611 people died and 51,207 were injured. Karnataka is second after Chandigarh when it comes to fatalities in road accidents, the CM was told.
Apparently, Siddaramaiah was livid after discovering that road safety committees headed by the DCs are not holding regular meetings. He even lambasted officials for doing little beyond identifying black spots.
“Revenue, police, transport and municipal officials have to work in tandem to prevent accidents. With precaution, lives can be saved. It isn’t possible to tolerate your negligence that’s leading to deaths,” Siddaramaiah told officials.
Siddaramaiah said ambulance services and a network of trauma centres should be provided on highways. “Death due to a road accident can push a family into complete poverty,” he said.
“The number of road accident deaths can be halved if district administrations take more interest,” Siddaramaiah said.
According to the CM, 63 per cent of road accident deaths occurred on 14 national highways and 114 state highways.
Siddaramaiah recalled how interventions helped reduce mishaps on the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway, where he said accidents happened daily in 2023. “Then, we held 2-3 serious meetings and there were results,” he said.
Between January and June 2023, the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway saw 341 accidents, 127 deaths and 382 injuries. From January to June this year, there have been 157 accidents, 40 deaths and 230 injuries. “Fatalities are down 69 per cent,” Siddaramaiah pointed out. “That’s how even small initiatives can make a difference.”