Killer black spots up from 49 to 90 in Mohali
As per the 2019-2021 report of the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre, Mohali is among the districts with the highest number of black spots
As road accident black spots doubled in the past five years, 26 lives on an average are being lost on the killer Mohali roads every month.
As per the 2019-2021 report of the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre, Mohali is among the districts with the highest number of black spots.
While there were 49 black spots across the district in 2019, 32 new black spots emerged by 2021 taking the number to 81. In an alarming rise of black spots, there are a total of 90 black spots across the district in 2024.
The latest report is being compiled following which the black spots are expected to swell further.
As per the previous report, national highways here had a maximum of 55 black spots.
At present the maximum black spots are in the peripheries of Mohali, including Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Lalru and Kharar. The airport road which is the traffic lifeline here has over 10 black spots.
Additional director general of police (traffic and road safety) AS Rai said that with the increase in population and rise in the number of vehicles in the district, many new black spots emerged in the past few years.
“Though the black spots are on a rise in Mohali, the best part is that our teams have identified the black spots and are working on the solutions to curb the accidents there with roataries or cycle tracks which are likely the part of traffic plan in Mohali,” the ADGP said.
Meanwhile, state traffic adviser Navdeep Asija attributed the current increase in black spots and accidents to the roadblock at the Haryana-Punjab border at Shambhu after the ongoing dharna by the farmers against the central government.
“Due to the blockage at Shambu barrier, Dera Bassi, Lalru and Zirakpur are facing major traffic rush. Many new black spots have come to the fore after multiple accidents happened there. Moreover, to decongest the traffic, flyovers were made in Kharar but people now tend to drive rashly on the elevated road there causing more accidents and thus increasing black spots. We have already submitted our suggestions to the authorities concerned including GMADA following which rotaries are being constructed here and we have also submitted a report on the cycle tracks to GMADA which will check accidents across the district,” Navdeep Asija said.
154 deaths in first six months this year
With just 115 cops to manage traffic across the district, deadly Mohali roads continue to claim lives.
In the first six months of the current year, out of a total 275 cases reported in Mohali, 154 people lost their lives and 350 got injured.
This shows that 26 commuters died on an average each month this year till June with 46 accidents on an average per month. At least two people got injured every day in the first six months.
A total of 296 road users died in 486 road mishaps in 2022 of which 130 people lost their lives in the first six months of the year.
In 2023, a total of 322 fatalities were reported across Mohali in 537 accident cases of which 166 lives were lost till June the same year.