Keonjhar: Illegal parking on highways has been causing lethal accidents and claiming precious lives as observation of ‘Zero Fatality Week’ by the state government went for a toss with as many as 17 lives lost on roads on the very first day of the programme. Eight people were killed when a van they were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck near Balijodi under Ghatagaon police limits in Keonjhar district Friday morning raising concern among road users, district officials, and people from various walks of life. Similarly, three people died in three separate road mishaps at Gelpur in Bhadrak, Chinimahula in Sambalpur, and Anandapur in Keonjhar districts.
Later in the evening, six more lost their lives in separate road mishaps across the state. Notably, 186 people were killed and 479 rendered critical in 576 road accidents within nine months this year in Keonjhar district. The accidents occurred between January and September this year while figures of the rest four months are yet to be available. Road deaths have witnessed a spurt in this district this year as 272 people died and 368 sustained critical injuries in 487 road accidents in 2022. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has provision for patrolling on the highways to check over-speeding, drunken driving, and illegal parking on roadsides by the errant drivers. However, due to a lack of proper enforcement of rules and curbs, drivers are parking on highways illegally with impunity and the menace has increased over time.
As a result, accidents often take place on the busy highway leading to loss of life and properties as hundreds of heavy vehicles carrying minerals pass through this district daily. The deadly accident that occurred Friday could have been averted had patrolling been undertaken on the national highway. The truck which was parked on the roadside owing to a breakdown could have been relocated to a safe place. Moreover, the NHAI officials could have barricaded the area and put up warning signage to keep approaching vehicles away. Sources said awareness programmes and raids are being conducted on a large scale in the district to check accidents on roads and highways. However, hardly any action is being taken against rash driving, over-speeding, drunken driving, and illegal parking on the highways.
Moreover, dhabas and roadside hotels are mushrooming on the roadside along national highways sans provision for parking. As a result, drivers park their vehicles on the roadside to visit the hotels and dhabas for food. Large number of trucks and other cargo vehicles parked on roadsides is a usual sight on National Highway-20 in areas under Ghatagaon, Sadar, Town and Jhumpura police limits in the district. The NHAI officials have closed their eyes to such wrongdoings and are not doing enough to crackdown on such illegal parking.
As a result, approaching vehicles ram into stationery vehicles parked on the highways leading to loss of life and properties. When contacted, RTO Gopalkrushna Das said action will be taken against the owners and drivers of the vehicles parked on highways while steps will be taken to relocate the vehicles in case of a breakdown. Ghatagaon SDPO Sudarshan Gangei said no patrolling was conducted Friday due to strike by the patrolling staff while the NHAI patrolling staff assisted in the rescue operation after the accident. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the district administration and its action after this gruesome mishap.