Bhadrak/Chhatrapur: Two young women lost their lives in separate road accidents along the busy National Highway-16 Thursday, triggering public outrage, protests, and renewed calls for stronger road-safety measures.
In Bhadrak district, a college student, Shraddhanjali Panda of Bhandaripokhari College, was killed after a sand-laden tractor allegedly hit her bicycle from behind while she was on her way to campus. The impact reportedly dragged her under the vehicle, killing her on the spot. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Enraged locals and college students immediately blocked the NH-16 for nearly five hours, demanding the arrest of the tractor driver and stricter action against reckless driving. The protest caused massive traffic congestion, leaving hundreds stranded. Police officials later held discussions with the agitators and restored normal traffic.
An investigation has been initiated, said Bhandaripokhari IIC Rajlakshmi Behera. District Collector Dillip Routray, who was in the area for a meeting, handed over Rs 30,000 to the victim’s father from the District Red Cross Society. Meanwhile, in Ganjam district, another fatal accident occurred at DRDA Square in Chhatrapur, also on NH-16, where an Andhra-bound container truck reportedly rammed a scooter from behind. The collision caused J. Swati, who was returning to Berhampur with her father after completing work at the Ganjam RTO, to fall on the road. She was crushed to death instantly in front of her father, who narrowly escaped. The police have detained the truck driver and seized the vehicle. A case (763/25) has been registered, and the body was handed over to the family after post-mortem. The Chhatrapur stretch of NH-16 has witnessed multiple fatalities in recent months. A biker from Balasore died near Science College Square earlier this week, while a schoolgirl was killed by a truck at the same DRDA Square in August.
Locals describe both junctions as “death traps” and have been consistently demanding flyovers and round-the-clock traffic policing. Following Thursday’s incident, Ganjam Collector V. Keerthi Vasan and SP Suvendu Kumar Patra visited the accident site and instructed the consultancy agency to expedite the ongoing highway construction work. Both tragedies have intensified calls for urgent road-safety interventions on NH-16, where rising fatalities continue to spark public concern across Odisha.