gurugram: More people have lost their lives in road accidents here than due to COVID-19 so far this year, with the death toll from the contagious disease currently standing at 170 here and 217 people having died in road accidents from January 1 to September 26, according to data compiled by the Gurugram Traffic Police.
Leading among these deaths are those of pedestrians at 80 and people who were killed in accidents involving two-wheelers (55). There may have been a huge reduction in road accidents and fatalities during March, April and May - the lockdown months. However, from the second week of June when the unlock phase started, road accidents increased.
According to officials, till May this year, 35 people had died in road accidents in Gurugram but from June to September, 182 were killed. Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway, National Highway-8, Golf Course Road, Cyber Green Area, MG Road, Sohna Road, HUDA City Centre, Rampura, Hailey Mandi and Sidhrawali are some areas that have seen the largest number of road accidents this year.
Recently a three-year-old boy died along with his father after the autorickshaw he was travelling in was hit by the SUV. Careless and reckless driving, over speeding, bad roads, poor lighting, weak eyesight of drivers are some of the major reasons for road accidents in the city
this year.
This year, however, the anger of residents came out in the open against the accidents caused by cars driven by juveniles. On August 23, 48-year-old Alok Gupta, a senior corporate manager died after the Harley Davidson he was riding was hit by a car from behind in the Cyber Green Area.
It was later found out it was being driven by a juvenile who was under the influence of alcohol. Police had registered an FIR under bailable
sections.
On Saturday, there was a silent protest by Alok Gupta's family along with 400 people who demanded stricter punishment for the juvenile and also slower probe by Gurugram Police in the matter.