Eight killed on Holi on city roads

Toll was 11 last year, peak in 2006 with 22 deaths

Eight people were killed in road accidents on Holi. Police said this was the lowest lowest number of fatal accidents during the festival since 2006.

This was against 11 fatal accidents that took place on Holi in 2014, 14 in 2013, 13 in 2012, 11 in 2011 and 15 in 2010. The largest number of casualties on Holi was in 2006 when there were 20 such accidents in which 22 people were killed.

Two of the eight fatal accidents were reported from east Delhi. In the first incident, a 33-year-old man died after the Honda City car he was driving rammed into the divider and fell off the flyover into a pit at ITO. The victim ran a finance firm and lived with his family in Gururam Das Nagar. He is survived by his wife and two children.

In another accident, a 60-year-old man was killed by an unidentified vehicle while he was crossing Dharampura traffic signal in New Usmanpur. Victim Hiralal died on the spot.

On Friday, police also fined 11,492 motorists and impounded 923 vehicles for violating traffic rules.

“About 200 teams of traffic police officials were stationed at different locations in the city to take action against drunk driving, speeding and reckless driving, among others,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Shukla.

Additionally, chase-and-challan motorcycles and cranes were also used to prosecute drunk drivers, and improperly parked vehicles were towed away.
The prosecutions included 1,569 for drunk driving, 787 for traffic signal jumping, 249 for improper parking, 192 for dangerous driving, 898 for speeding, 787 for triple-riding, 954 for not wearing helmets and 41 each for not using seat belts and not having valid driving licences.
“The presence of policemen at strategic locations and strict traffic enforcement also resulted in the lowest fatal accidents in the city on Holi,” Shukla added.
Over 13,000 motorists were prosecuted, including 2,090 for drunk driving on Holi last year.