Govt to spend Rs 11K cr to fix black accident spots: Gadkari

Concerned over alarmingly high number of 5 lakh annual road accidents in the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said the government will spend Rs 11,000 crore over 5 years to fix "black" accident spots.

"Road accidents cause an annual loss of Rs 55,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore which amounts to 3 per cent of the GDP. It is saddening to see that mostly youth in the age bracket of 22-33 years lose their lives. To deal with such an alarming scenario 726 black spots have been identified across the country," said the Road Transport and Highways Minister.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the government has decided to spend Rs 11,000 crore over 5 years to fix these accidental spots by correcting road design, addressing engineering issues and building underpasses and flyovers.

Gadkari said work on 10 black spots in Delhi began today and some of these are such where up to 150 persons have lost their lives. These spots are: Sarai Kale Khan, Kashmere Gate chowk (Morigate), Nigam Bodh Ghat, Mukundpur Chowk, Dr Bhahbha Marg crossing, Punjabi Bagh Chowk, ISBT Kashmere Gate, Mahipalpur Flyover, Shani Mandir and Shahdara Flyover.

"In a year 5 lakh accidents take place in the country, of which 1.5 lakh people die and another 3 lakh are crippled for life. So many people do not even die in wars or extremism killing or disease. This is a serious concern," Gadkari said.

He also appealed to states to correct such spots in State Highways as well as municipal and district roads, saying that his ministry was contemplating approaching Finance Ministry for some assistance to states from the Centre under the Central Road Cess.

He said up to 30 pilot projects have been initiated to bring reforms in driving licence system and computerised driving tests will become mandatory. Once a driver clears the test, he or she will be issued the licence within three days.

Also, cycle tracks will be made beside the highways for people and a Road Safety Authority will be there, he added.

Earlier in the day, marking the start of the Road Safety Week with a 'Walkathon' from India Gate, Gadkari said India is among those countries that has a very high number of road accidents and it can learn from Sweden which saw just one accident last year.