Guwahati an accident-prone city!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 13: Frequent accidents have made Guwahati an insecure place to live in. Accidents statistics of the city, touted as the gate way to the Northeast, simply leaves one stunned.

Believe it or not, the statistics available with the city police say that there were as many as 489 accident cases  in the past five months in Guwahati. This is despite the fact that the City Police has been placed under a commissionerate. As many as 116 of the 489 cases, according to the traffic police in the city, have been considered as fatal. In rest of the cases, while 131 people died, 431 sustained injuries. As many as 373 of the cases were considered nonfatal.

The situation was no better in 2014 either. According to traffic police sources, in the total 1,124 accident cases in that year, 304 people had to lose their lives and 935 sustained injuries. While 287 of the total cases in that year were considered fatal, 837 were considered nonfatal.

The year 2013 was even more dismal in so far as accidents are concerned. In the 1,182 accident cases in that year, 286 people lost their lives, 1,102 sustained injuries. While 266 of the total cases were considered fatal, 916 were considered nonfatal.

 In 2012 there were as many as 1,078 accident cases in the city, leaving 246 people dead and 1,062 injured. While 234 of the total cases were fatal, the remaining 844 were nonfatal.

In 2011 there were 1,085 accident cases leading to the death of 296 and injury of 886 others. As many as 279 of the cases were fatal and 806 were nonfatal.

The fast rise in the number of vehicles in the city is one of the reasons behind the increasing cases of accidents in Guwahati. Rash driving, especially late at night, is very common in the city. Driving under the influence of alcohol also leads to more accidents in Guwahati. A section of drivers who have obtained their driving license from galand have been a branded lot for violating traffic rules.