National Highway-16 turns into death trap with high accident rate

Nellore: The National Highway (NH)-16 has turned out to be a death trap and 51 people died only during the month of last October in various accidents. Major victims were found to be motorcyclists. Even though, the Police Department identified 30 black spots on the NH-16, there was no action to prevent mishaps. The district is having around 200 km highway from Kavali to Tada.

On an average, 3 accidents are taking place per day. As per guidelines of the Supreme Court, every 50 km of the highway requires a trauma care centre for immediate treatment and for saving valuable lives. A trauma care centre is located in Naidupet but lacks basic medical infrastructure.

Further, the district police, in a novel way, roped in around 500 final year civil engineering students and professors of various engineering colleges and involved them in surveying black spots on the NH. The safety audit process completed in a single day and found around 60 black spots.

The Police and Transport departments have conducted an exercise with the assistance of local engineering colleges in the district for preparing a blueprint on the measures to be taken aiming at lessening increasing road accidents between Kavali and Tada.

“The Police and Transport departments have conducted a sincere exercise on the black spots on the NH. But there was no honest action either from the Police Department or NHAI for taking measures at the identified places for preventing accidents. This has to be done on war foot basis as soon as they identified the spots,” said a retired official from the Transport Department.

Interestingly, vacancies of doctor posts at Naidupet Trauma Care Centre have to be filled for immediate treatment to the victims. Otherwise, passengers, who met with the accidents, have to rush to the normal hospitals in the areas or to the corporate hospitals in the district headquarters.

There were no speed limit boards even on the NH limiting speed of vehicles at identified places for preventing accidents and no rumble strips, thermoplastic and adequate lighting at vulnerable curves.

“Road safety meetings are being conducted by senior officials but no follow up action on what measures were taken and what to be done in future for preventing the accidents. This gap has to be reduced. Development is important, but this kind of emergency management is also essential,” said an official from the Revenue Department, Gudur division.