E-Paper
Bilaspur continues to be a black spot for accidents
Bilaspur crossing tops the list again for accident deaths till November 30 this year with 40 fatalities
In 2022, the Bilaspur crossing in Gurugram – identified as a road safety “black spot” since 2011 -- recorded the highest number of accident fatalities in the district with 67 deaths. Though steps were taken to identify the problems and measures recommended, police data for 2023 shows things have hardly improved -- the Bilaspur crossing tops the list again for accident deaths till November 30 this year with 40 fatalities.
On Thursday, at a law-and-order review meeting held at the mini secretariat, headed by Gurugram’s deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav, it was noted that major steps must be taken to contain the problem at the Bilaspur crossing, where at least 200 accident deaths have occurred in the last 10 years.
So, what is problem at the intersection? Several, according to officials, experts, and commuters.
“The crossing leads to the NH-48, the peripheral expressways, and the state highway. There are a lot of speeding vehicles, and a high volume of heavy vehicles which leads to accidents. Both sides are industrial areas, so there are a lot of fast-moving trucks,” said Virender Vij, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).
He added that since Bilaspur is not heavily populated, and there is a thick green cover in the area which leads to poor visibility. “Also, there are no pedestrian bridges or foot-over bridges, due to which people are forced to walk on the main carriageway. We can control the traffic movement but cannot make engineering changes or construct a pedestrian bridge. The lack of pedestrian crossings is leading to accidents, in which mostly the pedestrians die, as the movement of heavy vehicles is high on the stretch, since it is an industrial area,” Vij said.
A new note on the crossing, and possible measures was submitted to the district administration and regional transport authority of Gurugram last month, he added.
According to other traffic police officials aware of the details, recommendations were submitted for the construction of a footpath along the NH-48 service lane and redesigning intersections in the area.
Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said that regular meetings are being held with all stakeholders of road safety such as traffic police, transport department, and road safety experts in a bid to understand how road fatalities can be reduced as soon as possible.
“The absence of sidewalks, controlled crossings, road markings, and signage -- coupled with poor road conditions -- significantly heighten the potential for fatal crashes and severe injuries. Implementing basic measures such as road studs, blinking cat eyes, warning signs, and road markings can save lives,” said Shivani Khurana, project associate of Raahgiri Foundation, an NGO that works with various government agencies to make the roads safer by studying accident data and submitting plans and proposals to make changes in road designs.
In a bid to caution drivers, a Gurugram traffic police official said that signage indicating that a certain stretch is a blackspot will be installed 500 metres ahead of the spots along NH-48.
Locals said the problems are well known, especially to pedestrians.
“As a pedestrian, I cross the main highway amid traffic. This can lead to accidents. It’s scary. Arrangements such as marking the crossings with paint, deploying more traffic police personnel, and building a foot-over bridge will help,” said Kamal Pandey, a senior executive of an automobile company located in the vicinity.
Meanwhile, police data showed that in 2022, Farrukhnagar recorded the second highest accident fatalities with 40 deaths, followed by Pataudi with 26 deaths. In 2023, Farrukhnagar and Pataudi were replaced by IMT Manesar and Manesar, with 25 and 19 deaths each till November 30.
