New Delhi: Over 81,000 accidents took place on the Indian roads, including the national highways (NH), between March and June when the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 was underway.
This was informed in a written reply to the Lok Sabha Tuesday by V.K. Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
Singh’s reply was in response to a question by Congress leader and MP Manish Tewari on the number of people who died on the NHs while returning to their home states on foot, after the lockdown was announced on 24 March.
According to data released by the MoRTH, 81,385 accidents took place, including 29,415 fatalities, during the lockdown period from 23 March to 1 June. But the government said it did not maintain a separate data of migrants’ death or injuries in road accidents on the highways during the lockdown.
It, however, said assistance was provided, in terms of food, drinking water, basic medicines and footwear etc, to the migrant workers on foot on the NHs.
“Migrants were also provided with the resting places…and assistance in terms of the arrangement of transport to take them to the places nearest to their destinations,” the ministry’s response stated.
It also added that the Ministry of Home Affairs had facilitated the movement of migrant workers via Shramik Special trains and buses from 29 April onward.
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Congress leader Tewari had also asked whether the government provided any compensation to the kin of those killed or injured while returning to their native states.
He asked the government its reasons behind not making arrangements to safely transport the migrant workers and other people to their respective destinations during the lockdown.
On Wednesday, Tewari also took to Twitter and said, “No prizes for guessing who the bulk of these unfortunates were when traffic was minimal due to lockdown. All probability substantive numbers were poor migrants walking back home.”
This is huge.
Govt admits 81385 road accidents between March-June 2020 resulting in 29415 fatalities.
No prizes for guessing who bulk of these unfortunates were when traffic was minimal due to lockdown
All probability substantive numbers were poor migrants walking back home pic.twitter.com/hSgrZo0F89
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) September 23, 2020
According to a report released by the National Crime Records Bureau on accidental deaths and suicides in India, a total of 4,37,396 cases of ‘road accidents’ had taken place in 2019. As many as 4,39,262 people were injured and 1,54,732 killed in these accidents.
In January 2019, 42,896 road accidents were reported, when there was no lockdown or traffic restrictions. It was the maximum number of accidents reported in a month last year.
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