Coronavirus impact: Number of fatalities due to road accidents, crimes see a dip in India

New Delhi, Apr 25: Several parts in India have recorded a massive fall in the number of deaths due to other incidents amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

According to reports, officials and crematoriums claimed that nationwide lockdown has cut the number of road traffic accidents and in many other similar incidents.

According to municipal data, central Mumbai, a home to more than 10 million people, saw the number of deaths fall by about 21 per cent in March compared with the same month of 2019. Overall deaths plummeted more than 60 per cent in Ahmedabad, the biggest city in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat.

The lower number of recorded deaths in parts of India, contrasts with the Netherlands which recorded about 2,000 more deaths than normal in the first week of April. In Jakarta, the number of funerals rose sharply in March and some towns in Italy also saw a jump in recorded deaths.

It is reportedly said that accidents on roads in India, killed more than 151,400 people in 2018. The coronavirus lockdown, which is due to end on May 3, would cut road deaths by at least 15 per cent in 2020 compared with 2018.

Also, as passenger trains halted, fatalities from all-too-common rail accidents have also plunged. In Mumbai, it is alleged that more than half a dozen people die every day on the rail network.

Meanwhile, several reports claimed that victims of crime were also not being brought in.

The nationwide lockdown may have deterred some criminals, the lower rates might also reflect difficulties in reporting deaths. It is also said that there would be an increase in crime rates when the lockdown ends.