Accidents rise as roads crumble

Unauthorised median openings on highways proving deadly, say police

Road accidents have become a regular phenomenon in the districts of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and ASR.

Anakapalli district, which has a long stretch of NH-16 passing through it, sees around 65 accidents on an average every month, the highest among the three districts.

Police said that in the last five months, the district has recorded 349 accidents in which 175 people lost their lives and 340 suffered injuries. There are over 40 ‘black spots’ in the district where the majority of accidents have been taking place. Among them, Nakkapalli and Yelamanchali (Rural) police stations alone are home to 14 black spots. followed by Anakapalli (Rural) with five.

As per the police, the 70-km stretch of NH-16 passing through the district is a major safety concern for locals and a death trap for motorists. The primary causes behind the accidents are speeding, negligent driving, poor illumination and unauthorised and unregulated crossings across the highway, they said.

In the case of Nakkapalli police station limits, which covers 17 km of the total NH-16 in Anakapalli district, the entire stretch is dotted with villages on either side of the highway with people frequently crisscrossing the road throughout the day. There are around 20 unauthorised median openings, which are a major contributor to accidents. A few months ago, Nakkapalli police station Sub-Inspector D. Venkanna and his team had closed all the unauthorised median openings by placing iron railings. However, many of them were reopened by locals later. A similar situation prevails in Kasimkota, Payakaraopeta, S. Rayavaram, Anakapalli, Narsipatnam and other mandals.

Superintendent of Police S. Gowthami said that speeding is a major cause for accidents in Anakapalli. “The district police are conducting a survey by roping in various agencies. The teams will study the accident spots and come up with solutions to mitigate the number of accidents,” she said.

In Visakhapatnam district too, there is a long stretch of NH-16 passing through the city all the way from Lankelapalem to Tagarapuvalasa, and this stretch records the most number of accidents. A long-pending demand from citizens to divert heavy vehicles via the Anandapuram-Anakapalli Highway is yet to be heeded, as large trucks still continue to ply through the city, thereby increasing congestion on roads as well as putting other motorists at risk, especially at night.