E-Paper
At 107, Pune sees the highest pedestrian deaths in 2022
Save Pune Traffic Movement (SPTM) director, Harshad Abhyankar, who obtained the information under RTI
An application filed before the traffic police under Right to Information (RTI) has found as many as 107 pedestrians to have died in Pune in 2022, up 67% as compared to 2019 when 64 pedestrians lost their lives. Save Pune Traffic Movement (SPTM) director, Harshad Abhyankar, who obtained the information, has demanded an analysis of the reasons behind the deaths from the traffic police.
“We had sought information from the traffic branch regarding pedestrian deaths and to our shock, the figure shows a significant rise in 2022. We want the traffic police to find out the reasons behind the rising number of deaths. Such an analysis will help us bring down the death rate which in turn will result in commuter safety,” Abhyankar said.
Deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Vijay Kumar Magar, said, “We will study the causes in detail and the information will be shared with the public and the activists to make Pune roads safer for the commuters.”
An analysis carried out by SPTM in November last year had suggested negligence on the part of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) towards pedestrian signals as the reason for a majority of the fatalities. According to SPTM, there are around 200 pedestrian signals installed at 250 intersections in the city which are non-functional. Shrinivas Kandul, head, electrical department, PMC, said, “Most of the pedestrian signals are shut and they are being calibrated as per requirements under Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited that will install 125 pedestrian signals in Pune, out of which 30 will be installed in the first phase.” Indeed, pedestrian signals at many important junctions are non-functional, raising the risk of accidents. According to citizens, the traffic police do not bother to report malfunctioning pedestrian signals to the authorities.
Similarly, a public survey carried out by SPTM in August last year had found massive encroachment of footpaths by hawkers to have led to a spike in fatalities involving pedestrians. According to statistics shared by the Pune police, as many as 48 pedestrians lost their lives between January and June 2022. The SPTM – which deals with transport issues – had predicted the likelihood of pedestrian fatalities hitting a seven-year high in 2022, considering the numbers provided by the Pune police. A survey conducted by the city police at the time had found inadequate facilities for walkers, narrow roads, and vehicles driving at extremely high speeds to be some of the most common causes behind accidents occurring in areas such as Deccan Gymkhana and Shivajinagar, Warje, Katraj, Hadapsar, Kothrud, Baner and Ahmednagar road. Another startling reason for pedestrian fatalities which had come to the fore was the pedestrians’ proclivity for talking on mobile phones while crossing at junctions.
The SPTM’s latest demand for an analysis from the traffic police assumes added importance in the wake of a pedestrian having been killed recently on Sunday by a speeding car in Yerawada. The victim, Prakashchandra Laxmanrao Telang, 73, a retired navy personnel, was crossing the road near ‘Save On Medical’ when he was hit by the speeding car, according to police officials.
