640 people killed in road accidents in Uttarakhand

Dehra Dun, Jul 31 (UNI) At least 640 people have died in various road-related accidents in Uttarakhand since January 1, 2008 as compared to 509 last year, according to figures available with the police department.

The figures for January 1 to July 2008 indicate that the highest number of accidental deaths occured in Hardwar district of the state claiming 150 lives (whereas it was 117 last year) followed by Dehra Dun (111 as compared to 86 last year) while Bageshwar district recorded the least number of deaths (4 compared to 5 last year).

Shockingly, the highest number of road-related accidents occurred in Uttarakhand's capital Dehra Dun ( 212 as compared to 192 last year) followed by Uddhamsinghnagar district ( 210 as compared to 226 last year) and Hardwar (187 as compared to 172 last year).

Bageshwar recorded the lowest number (5 against 7 last year) followed by Pithoragarh district (9 against 24 last year).

Rash and negligent driving accounted for the highest number of accidents (828) in the state followed by engine failure (10), drunk driving and rains (1 each) and other reasons (8).

Interestingly, no accident was caused by landslides, a predominant feature of the hilly terrain.

Though the number of accidents considerably declined in Uddhamsinghnagar, the district recorded the highest number of persons with accidental injuries (269 as compared to 282 last year) followed by Hardwar (243 as compared to 204 last year) and Dehra Dun (208 as compared to 145 last year).

UNI PB AM VC1610