In Solan, over 50% mishaps last year took place on NHs
Ambika Sharma
Solan, March 7
Last year, over 50% road accidents in the district took place on the national highways (NHs), which contribute to 40% of the total fatalities and 62% injuries.
An analysis of the road accident figures of 2022 led to this startling revelation as of the 178 accidents registered in the district last year, 91 took place on the NHs while 40 on the major district roads (MDRs) and 47 on other roads, including link and village roads.
Of the 52 fatalities, 21 were on the NHs and 18 and 13 on the MDRs and other roads, respectively. A majority of the victims were males. Of the 21 fatalities last year, 20 were males. Even among 262 injured, 204 were males and 58 females.
Also, there has been no drop in the number of accidents with 23 incidents — 16 on the NHs, where 11 people died — reported this year.
With no trauma centre being located on any NH, including the accident-prone Kalka-Shimla highway, immediate medical assistance is not available. The injured are referred to a private medical college at Sultanpur, several km away. “Since the first few minutes are crucial to save a road accident victim, precious time is lost in referring them to Sultanpur,” said Vipin, a Dharampur resident.
SP Virender Sharma attributes a large number of road accidents to drunken driving.
He said, “It has been observed that youngsters, especially from neighbouring states, drink through the night and then drive back in the morning in a state of drowsiness and fatigue.”
“What was even more worrisome was the fact that youngsters were getting addicted to heroin and they suffered from utter drowsiness while driving. Drug abuse was emerging as another cause of road accidents and women, too, were falling prey to its abuse,” the SP added.
