UP: Road safety measures to be strengthened on Lakhimpur-Bahraich section of highway after fatal accidents

In the wake of a series of fatal accidents on the Lakhimpur-Bahraich stretch of the national highway, the district administration has directed highway and traffic authorities to strictly implement the '4-Es' strategy' which focuses on engineering, education, emergency and enforcement.

The move comes after 10 people, including a government teacher and an engineer, were killed when a van collided with a speeding truck while attempting to overtake another vehicle in the Isanagar police station area on Monday.

According to official records, nearly 40 people have lost their lives and over 45 others have been injured in major accidents on the Lakhimpur-Bahraich stretch of National Highway-730 since 2022.

Earlier on May 7, five persons travelling in an autorickshaw were killed and three others injured after the vehicle collided head-on with a speeding truck on the Sharda bridge at Aira.

District Magistrate Anjani Kumar Singh expressed concern over the increasing number of accidents and said the administration was reviewing all lapses and would intensify awareness and enforcement drives.

''While strictly regularising road engineering and emergency response, we are going to focus heavily on public education and strict enforcement. Punitive action, including cancellation of licences of repeat violators, will be taken in a time-bound manner to prevent such loss of lives,'' Singh told PTI.

Officials said the district magistrate chaired an emergency meeting on Tuesday with officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Public Works Department (PWD), road transport department and police to discuss measures to prevent recurrence of such accidents.

The meeting was attended by Chief Development Officer Abhishek Kumar, Additional District Magistrate Narendra Bahadur Singh and Additional Superintendent of Police Pawan Gautam.

During the meeting, the district magistrate directed PWD and NHAI officials to identify accident-prone ''black spots'', rectify engineering flaws and install warning signages, reflectors and speed-monitoring cameras at vulnerable locations and sharp turns on the highway.

Officials said the administration believes that the wide carriageway and relatively low traffic density on the divider-less highway often tempt drivers to overspeed and violate traffic norms, leading to serious accidents.

Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) S B Pandey said that despite challans and seizure of vehicles for traffic violations, desired results had not been achieved.

''We have challaned a number of vehicles and even seized several others. However, this has failed to yield desired results in checking safety violations,'' Pandey told PTI.

He stressed the need for greater awareness among drivers and urged police outposts and local police stations along the highway to take immediate action against errant drivers.

Pandey also appealed to motorists to strictly follow speed limits and avoid reckless overtaking, especially on divider-less stretches of the highway.

He warned taxi and autorickshaw operators against overcrowding passengers and said stern action would be taken against those found overloading vehicles or overspeeding.

''The safety of commuters cannot be compromised,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)