Two-wheeler mishaps rise five times in Kanpur from 2018: Study

Before the Covid-19 period, 13% of admissions to the medical college were due to two-wheeler accidents. Now, the admissions of such cases have reached 59%.

Two-wheelers are involved in 59% road accidents – a jump of nearly five times from pre-Covid times – in Kanpur, a Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College study has found.

For representation only (HT File Photo)

Before the Covid-19 period, 13% of admissions to the medical college were due to two-wheeler accidents. Now, the admissions of such cases have reached 59%.

At present, the emergency of Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) Hospital has been receiving an average of 70 cases a day for the past one year, against 30 to 35 cases in pre-Covid-19 times. Of these, an average of 20 cases are of head injuries with at least three cases requiring surgical intervention.

The report has been prepared by the neurosciences department and orthopaedic department. The findings were shared with the Central Road Safety Cell which has expressed concern in a letter to the district administration and medical college.

Dr Manish Singh, head of department, Neurosurgery, said, “We are performing an average of three surgeries in accident cases in a day at the neurosciences centre. Earlier, it used to be three in a week,” he said.

Dr Anurag Rajoria, emergency medical officer, LLR Hospital, said that for a year, the data of the injured and fatalities was recorded and compared with that of 2018 and the picture to emerge was entirely different. “Two-wheeler accidents have risen sharply in this period. It is a cause for serious concern.”

The study found that heavy vehicles were responsible for 34% admissions. The tractor, e-rickshaw and three-wheelers accounted for 1% of the accidents.