Guwahati: Death stalks highways in Assam where number of deaths due to road accidents every year is higher than the national average. According to a report of the state transport department, Assam registers average 35 deaths per 100 road accidents which are higher than the national average of 28.2 deaths per hundred road accidents.
Total number of road traffic accidents recorded in Assam during the last three years was 18,546 including 9,644 on national highways, 4,511 on state highways and 4391 on other roads. Total 6.469 persons died due to these accidents which left 18,373 injured.
The year-wise figures are as follows : during the year 2011 total 2342 persons were killed and 6505 injured in total 6569 road accidents recorded in the state ; in the year 2012, there were 4766 road accidents which resulted in deaths of 1686 persons and injury to 5259 persons ; total 7211 road accidents occurred in the year 2013 in which 2441 persons were killed and 6609 injured.
The city of Guwahati which is notorious for traffic congestion and reckless driving, recorded 3345 road accidents in the same period that resulted in deaths of 826 persons and injury to 3050 persons.
The year-wise break-up — in the year 2011, total 295 persons were killed in 1085 road accidents in Guwahati city; in the year 2012, the city recorded 1078 road accidents in which 246 persons were killed and 286 persons were killed in 1182 road accidents in the city in the year 2013. On an average 1115 road accidents occur in the city every year in which average 275 persons are killed and 1017 injured.
It is , however, is not a new phenomenon. In 2007, Figures tabled in Assam assembly in the year 2007 recorded 4403 road traffic accidents in the state which left 1604 persons dead and 5697 injured.
Though the figures of deaths related to road accidents reflects an alarming situation, there is hardly any discernible efforts on part of the concerned authorities in Assam for ensuring ad safety while highway ambulance services and patrolling have remained a far cry in the state.