WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir reported 9,070 road fatalities, 57457 road accidents, and 76592 injuries from 2013 to 2022, with victims spanning various age groups.
The Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Jairam Gadkari, revealed this information in the Lok Sabha.
The Minister informed that from 2013 to 2022, Jammu and Kashmir reported 9070 road fatalities.
Whereas fatalities classified by Age group from 2016 to 2022 concerned 784 people below the age of 18 years lost during the period; 1,668 people died who were aged between 18 and 25. 3,290 people in the age group of 25 to 60 lost their lives in road accidents during the same period, whereas 568 people above 60 died in a road crash in 6 years, he said.
Sharing details on road accidents in the last five years, Gadkari informed that in 2018, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh reported 5,978 road accidents, 5,796 in 2019, 4,860 in 2020, 5452 in 2021, and 6,092 in 2022, for a total of 28,178.
The minister further said that as per the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety, India is committed to reducing the number of road traffic deaths and injuries to 50% by 2030.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, as it stands implemented, provides for strict penalties for ensuring compliance and enhancing deterrence for violation of traffic rules and strict enforcement through the use of technology, he replied.
The Ministry has issued rules for Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety. The rules specify the detailed provisions for placing electronic enforcement devices on high-risk and high-density corridors on National Highways, State Highways, and critical junctions in millions of cities in India and cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), he said.
He added that the Ministry, on 10 June 2024, issued an advisory to all the States and Union territories on technological interventions to ensure compliance with the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.
Therefore, the Government has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on 4E’s i.e. Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care. The government has taken up the matter of incorporation of Road Safety Education in the school curriculum in the textbooks of NCERT with the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, he said.
