Speedy bikers turn narrow Palampur roads into pedestrians’ nightmare

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, June 23

The rising number of cases of people being hit by two-wheelers in Palampur town, and surrounding areas, has become a matter of concern.

Passing through the narrow roads of Palampur is no less than a nightmare.

In the past six months alone, over 40 pedestrians have been hit by

two-wheeler riders in

different parts of the town.

Most of them have either been admitted to hospitals or have been rendered bedridden. Most recently, a 65-year-old man was hit by a speeding biker in a busy market of the town. He suffered multiple fractures and was admitted to a hospital.

The narrow roads of Palampur have turned into “killer roads” for pedestrians. Despite the fact there has been a manifold increase in vehicular traffic in the town, the width of most roads in the town remains the same as 30 years ago. Successive governments made no efforts to widen roads and streamline vehicular traffic. To make matters worse, vehicles parked on either side of roads is not an uncommon sight for the town.

In the state, as against the national average of 29.30 per cent, road traffic accidents per lakh of population is 31.54 per cent, an alarmingly high figure. The death rate in road traffic accidents in the state is 13.77 per cent, as against the national average of 10.93 per cent.

In terms of vehicles, the accident rate at percentage per 10,000 vehicles is 17.37 per cent in the state, while at the national level, the same is 15.10 per cent.

The number of vehicles in the state is increasing at the rate of nine per cent, meaning that 1.4 lakh vehicles are added to the state every year, with the total number of registered vehicles having crossed 22 lakh.

Besides, over 25,000 vehicles enter the state daily during peak tourist season.

Kangra district tops the state in deaths due to road accidents, followed by Una and Baddi. Major causes of these accidents are speeding, rash and negligent driving and drunk driving.

A senior police officer, while talking to The Tribune, said over 10 traffic constables had been deputed in different parts of the town to manage traffic.

However, some youngsters indulged in rash driving, leading to accidents, the official added.

He said the police alone could not solve these problems, and parents of such youngsters should cooperate with the police and restrict their children from indulging in rash and negligent driving.

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