A smart city in the making or a death trap?

By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, March 14: What should one call Guwahati – a smart city in the making or a death trap? Unbelievable though, it is the fact that over 22.66 people die in the city monthly on an average in road accidents.
What has made the traffic system in Guwahati go haywire? There is regular checking by the police with breathalyzers to ascertain the limit of alcohol intake by drivers. The police and the Transport Department hold road safety weeks through various programme so as to arrest road accidents in the city. However, the number of road accidents and the rate of deaths in accidents refuse to come down significantly. Does not it mean that what is done falls short of the being the perfect remedy? Do not those at the helm of affairs need to brainstorm to solve the mece?
The police often blame reckless driving, mixing driving and drinking, increase in the number of vehicles in the roads in the city as some of the prime reasons behind such a huge number of accidents and accident-related deaths in the city. 
The city has as many as 9.50 lakh cars of all hues. The Kamrup (M) District Transport Office (DTO) registers 300-350 new cars, everyday. In fiscal 2015-16, as many 71,906 cars were registered by Kamrup (M) DTO. In fiscal 2016-17 till January, 50,678 cars have been registered by the DTO. Kamrup(M) DTO(R) in-charge Prasenjit Ghosh was on record saying recently that apart from vehicles that come to Guwahati from other districts of the State, 3,000-4,000  vehicles come from Tripura, around 5,000 from Meghalaya, around 200 from Mizoram, around 1,000 from galand and around 100 from Manipur to Guwahati, everyday. Apart from these, there are vehicles of the Army, CRPF, BSF, India Air Force etc that keep coming to the city, Ghosh said, and added that all these cars do add to the traffic congestion. There are also around 13,000 cabbies being operated in Guwahati and its suburbs by some private companies.
As many as 1,042 road accidents, including 258 fatal accidents, took place in the city in 2016. As many as 272 people lost their lives in those accidents in that year. There were also 784 non-fatal accidents in 2016. As many as 821 people sustained injuries in those accidents.  
In January 2016 there were 30 fatal accidents claiming as many lives. There were 66 non-fatal accidents in that year, leaving 60 people injured.
In February 2016 the number of fatal accidents was 23 claiming 24 lives. The month also witnessed 68 non-fatal accidents, leaving 69 injured in that month.
In March 2016, there were 21 fatal accidents leading to the death of 22 people. The number of non-fatal accidents in that month was 81, leading to the injury of 68 people.
In April 2016, there were 25 fatal accidents leading to the death of 27 people. The number of non-fatal accidents in that month was 63, leading 91 injured.
In May last year there were 25 fatal accidents, claiming 26 lives. As many as 66 people were also injured in 64 non-fatal accidents in that month.
June 2016 witnessed the killing of 19 people in as many fatal accidents in the city. Seventy-one other people also sustained injuries in as many as 61 non-fatal accidents in that month.
July 2016 witnessed 15 fatal accidents, leading to the death of 17 people. Sixty-nine people were also injured in that month in as many as 60 non-fatal accidents in the city.
August 2016 had 23 fatal road accidents leading to the death of 26 people in the city. The number of injured people in that year was 71 and in 63 non-fatal accidents.
September 2016 saw 15 deaths in 14 fatal accidents in the city. In 59 other non-fatal accidents in the city that year, 57 other people were injured.
October 2016 witnessed 20 deaths in as many fatal accidents in the city, besides 80 injuries were reported in 70 non-fatal accidents in that month.
November 2016 witnessed the death of 18 people in as many fatal accidents in the city. Fifty-five other people were injured in 61 non-fatal accidents in that month.
December 2016 saw 28 deaths in 25 fatal accidents in the city. Sixty-four other people were left injured in as many 68 non-fatal accidents in that year.
However, there is a slight fall in the number of accident cases in the city. The total number of road accidents in the city was 1,042 in 2016 against 1,156 in 2015. The number of death in road accidents in 2016 was 272 against 303 in 2015.