Punjab Road Accidents Decreased by 45.5%
The lack of seriousness towards road safety is exemplified by the accident that occurred in Fazilka district on Friday morning
The number of deaths in road accidents has decreased by 45.5% latest news : The lack of seriousness towards road safety is exemplified by the accident that occurred in Fazilka district on Friday morning. A pickup van carrying 20 passengers collided with a stationary canter near Golu Ka Mod on the Ferozepur-Fazilka highway, resulting in 11 deaths and 10 serious injuries. The district administration has expressed concerns that the death toll might increase due to the critical condition of some of the injured. Eyewitnesses reported that the pickup van was traveling at high speed, causing it to lose control and crash into the canter parked by the roadside.
Just a few days ago, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann claimed that the state government's establishment of a road safety force within a year has resulted in a 45.5% reduction in road accident deaths. He also mentioned that not only have deaths decreased, but the number of accidents has also gone down.
This claim has been extensively used for government propaganda, but the reality is that government statistics do not always present an accurate picture of the situation. Many accidents are not even reported by the police. Often, the police emphasize settlements to avoid court appearances and to showcase better performance. Similarly, when relatives of political leaders or wealthy individuals are responsible for accidents, cases are often settled with money.
In reality, if one wants to understand the actual situation regarding accidents, it can be gleaned from local newspaper editions. These reports indicate that in a state like Punjab, there are an average of at least 7-8 deaths reported daily. On the other hand, if one looks at government statistics, the average for the year 2024, based on the 1016 figures, does not exceed three. This is clearly a cover-up of the truth. Furthermore, the internal deception of government "truth" can easily be exposed through district-wise statistics.
For instance, according to government records, there were 536 dangerous accidents in Mohali district during 2024, resulting in 312 deaths and 349 injuries. If there were 312 deaths in Mohali alone, then were there only 1016-312=704 deaths in the rest of Punjab? Are districts like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Bathinda, with higher populations and road traffic, so safe that there is not even one death per day on average from road accidents?
Road safety cannot be ensured by covering up the truth. It can only be achieved by strictly enforcing traffic rules. Negligence towards traffic rules is so deeply ingrained in our habits that if someone adheres to speed limits on a highway, vehicles behind them honk and create trouble. Similarly, if someone stops at a traffic light turning from green to yellow, the vehicle behind considers it justified to overtake and move ahead.
In many cities of Punjab, traffic police primarily issue challans to vehicles with out-of-state license plates. Every police officer knows that if they issue a challan, there will either be calls from influential people or threats from "big shots." Moreover, the district-wise strength of traffic police is so minimal that they consider it a success to keep the traffic moving, let alone enforce the rules.
When half of the state's police force is engaged in VIP security, how much manpower is left for other tasks? Road safety requires seriousness and compassion from the authorities towards human lives. Distributing compensation grants to victims' families using taxpayer money after every major accident provides temporary relief, but it is not a permanent solution to reducing accidents.
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