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Over hundred killed in four months on Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway
The Congress government informed that the newly-developed Bengaluru - Mysuru Expressway saw staggering 100 deaths and 335 injuries due to accidents from March-June this year
The new Bengaluru - Mysuru Expressway saw a staggering 100 deaths and 335 injuries due to accidents in just four months between March and June, the Karnataka government told the state assembly on Tuesday, pointing to serious problems on the high-speed road connecting the two cities.
“In March alone, 20 people died and 63 people were injured. In April, 23 people died and 83 were injured. In May, 29 dead and 93 injured. 28 dead and 96 injured in June,” state home minister G Parameshwara said. “According to our reports, 100 people have died and 335 were injured.”
Parameshwara was responding to a question raised by Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Suresh Kumar, who queried the government on the steps it was taking to reduce the large number of accidents. Kumar contested Parameshwara’s estimates, and said 132 people were killed since inauguration of the highway in March. “In the Ramanagara district of the highway, 63 people have died, 65 in Mandya and four in Mysuru,” he said.
Agreeing that there are several issues on the highway, Parameshwara said the expressway suffers from a serious lack of signage and warnings. “The absence of proper signages and signboards at curves is a major concern,” he said. There are also technical issues that do not make for safe travel, he added.
The government will take steps to reduce accidents on the road, which include deployment of highway patrols every 30 km to restrain speeding vehicles, cracking down on illegal stops along the highway, installing proper signages, improving lane discipline, and urging the National Highway Authority of India to prevent pedestrians from crossing the highway, the home minister said. “There are no streetlights at the exit points and we have requested the NHAI to implement these steps,” he said.
Janata Dal (Secular) MLA GT Devegowda intervened in the discussion, saying that the road becomes slippery when rainwater accumulates on it. He complained of the lack of proper maintenance. The home minister said he would look into the matter and take appropriate action.
The state government has sought a safety audit report of the road from the highways authority, Parameshwara said. Public words department minister Satish Jarkiholi has written to the Centre in the matter, he added.
Last month, additional director general of police, traffic and road safety, Alok Kumar visited accident-prone areas and directed officials to book violators for speeding. The speed limit on the highway is 100 km per hour.
Recently, Ramanagara police started checks with speed radar guns and have registered 490 cases on vehicles plying on the expressway for speeding and not following lane discipline. Out of this, 174 cases have been booked for speeding, 137 for not following lane discipline, 47 for not wearing helmets and 81 for not wearing seat belts, officials said, declining to be named.
The 119 km expressway was built at a cost of ₹8,408 crore. Of its total length, 52 km is a new, consisting of five bypasses to reduce congestion. The project includes 11 overpasses, 64 underpasses, five bypasses and 42 small bridges. The expressway also has six lanes, with additional two-lane service roads on both carriageways.
