RAMANAGARA: With the rising number of accidents on the 10-lane Bengluru-Mysuru expressway, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP-Law and Order) Alok Kumar on Tuesday inspected a stretch of the highway from Babusapalya near Kumbalgod.
He also held discussions with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project director Rahul Gupta and suggested various measures to reduce the number of accidents and improve access for villagers to the service roads.
Alok Kumar directed the police officers concerned to deploy police personnel in uniform on the highway and said that their presence will prompt motorists to decrease speed. “When I was SP in Davanagere, we had started patrol on the highway and the accident rate dropped by about 40 per cent. Now, not one police personnel is seen on the highway right from Bengaluru to Belagavi. Police patrol should be started on all highways”, he said.
Alok Kumar also met some villagers who poured out their problems. They pointed out that several deaths have occurred by the NHAI officials do not visit the spot. “We have to go around 3 km to cross the road and schoolchildren are finding it difficult. Also rainwater stagnates on the service road as the NHAI has removed a drain”, they said. The ADGP then directed the NHAI officials to attend to those issues by July 30.
Alok Kumar also directed the NHAI project director to ensure that streetlights are on throughout the night on the highway, install CCTV cameras and proper signages, fix the service roads and to build skywalks for the benefit of villagers at certain points. He also said the entry and exit points have to be provided properly and stagnation of rainwater on the highway should be tackled.
“In the last five months, there have been 48 accidents resulting in 58 deaths on the highway stretch in Ramanagara district. If we take into account the accidents that occurred in Mandya district too, the number come up to around 120 deaths. There are some faults on the highway due to which vehicles can cross the median and cause accidents. Motorists should also maintain lane discipline. Four highway patrol vehicles and a speed radar gun will also be deployed and we are looking at suspending or revoking the driver’s licence of offenders. Our aim is to bring down accidents by at least 25 per cent in the next one month”, he told reporters.
He also advised motorists to buckle up their seat belts, use indicators while changing lanes and to maintain speed limit. “The 10-lane expressway has a speed limit of 100 kmph and motorists should maintain a speed of 60-80 kmph at curves”, he suggested.
The ADGP said action will be initiated against NHAI officials if they do not implement the suggestions in the given time. “They should deploy ambulances, highway patrols and have provision for emergency exits. We will ensure that they do it”, he added.
Project director of NHAI, Rahul Gupta, said the police have made certain suggestions and these will be brought to the attention of the higher-ups. “We will act on the issues in stages”, he said.
Alok Kumar was accompanied by IGP (central range) Ravikanthe Gowda, Ramanagara SP Karthik Reddy, officials of NHAI and Dileep Buildcon Ltd.