Study finds killer national highway stretch in Punjab

NEW DELHI: Each kilometre of the Panipat-Jalandhar highway (NH-44) falling in Punjab claimed around five lives between 2016 and 2018 and the socio-economic cost of accidents was around Rs 933 crore, according to a study jointly conducted by Punjab Police and the office of traffic advisor in the state.
The report said 880 people died on this 175-km stretch between 2016 and 2018 while 525 were left seriously injured and another 183 received minor injuries.
Socio-economic cost is calculated by estimating the direct financial loss, impact on family and health system. This first-of-its kind study to estimate the total loss due to accidents on a stretch of national highway comes at a time when India has been struggling to reduce the number of road fatalities. In 2018, the number of people killed in road crashes increased to 1.51 lakh compared with 1.48 lakh in the previous year. Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had told RS on July 22 how the number of fatalities on NHs had crossed 54,000 in 2018.
Traffic advisor to Punjab government Navdeep Asija said the study had calculated the socio-economic cost based on thePlanning Commission report, which had estimated annual cost of road crashes to be around 3% of GDP. He said the SC committRead More – Source