Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Highway to hell! Two accidents a day on Yamuna Expressway, reveals RTI

DNA: Gautam Budhdha Nagar: Tuesday, 28 July 2015.
With 319 deaths in three years, the 165-km long Yamuna Expressway is now being described as the deadliest road in the country.
Yamuna Expressway, built as a symbol of modern development connecting the Industrial hub Noida with the city of Taj, Agra, witnessed as many as 2,194 accidents between August 2012 and April 2015. That means the expressway have had two accidents every day in 1000 days.
The startling revelations came in response to an RTI application filed by advocate AN Srivastava of Agra. The Yamuna Expressway authority has revealed the figures.
While last year saw 771 accidents on the expressway, this year it has already witnessed about 252 accidents in just a span of four months, i.e. between January 1 and April 30.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav had inaugurated the highway in August 2012, which was built at a cost of Rs12, 000 crore.
Terming the figures, ‘alarming’, KC Jain, Secretary of Agra development foundation, said, “People continue to die and the expressway authority continues to overlook the speed menace. We have filed PIL in Allahabad High court which directed that the matter be referred to a high-level expert committee constituted by the state government.”
Rakesh Garg, ADF joint secretary, said most of the vehicles involved in accidents were found to be running above the permissible limit of 100 kmph, as there is no provision to penalise for over-speeding.