The mangled wreck of the Indica and (below) stationary trucks lined up on the highway. Pictures by Surajit Roy

Malda, Jan. 9: Three accidents in 72 hours on National Highway 34, including one this morning which claimed the life of a driver, have made the Malda district administration sit up to the problem of illegal encroachments.

Pandemonium broke out near Kavi Sukanto More in Malda town along the highway— connecting south and north Bengal — when a Tata Indica was hit by a truck from the rear.

Eyewitnesses said Safiul Alam, who was driving the car, was thrown out through the windscreen of the vehicle, which rose 10ft above the ground before crashing down on the road. Safiul died on the spot. There was, however, no passenger in the Indica, that had turned into a mangled wreck.

The driver of the truck has been arrested and the vehicle seized.

Sixty-year-old Safiul was a resident of Gayespur area and a retired driver of the Malda District Central Cooperative Bank. He often drove the car, which he had bought and let out on rent.

The local people were at first alarmed by the sound of crashing metal around seven in the morning. When they realised what had happened, around 500 residents put up a road blockade for three hours. They started pelting passing vehicles with stones and thrashing truck drivers.

Police, which arrived an hour later, had a tough time controlling the crowd.

According to the local people, accidents on the highway have become a regular feature. On Monday night, 22-year-old Santosh Mondal, who was riding a bicycle, was hit by a truck at Mongalbari and died on the spot. Another truck had smashed 45-year-old Niranjan Das, a schoolteacher, near Rathbari the next day.

The people blamed the encroachments on both sides of the four-lane highway for the mishaps. Every night, long queues of trucks can be seen parked along the highway. In the morning, vendors occupy a major portion of the highway with their wares, making it almost a two-lane road.

Malda district magistrate Chittaranjan Das, who expressed concern over the spate of accidents on the national highway, said he would soon convene a meeting of administrative and police officials to initiate a drive against the encroachments.

President of the district Trinamul Congress Babla Sarkar, however, refused to attach much importance to the administration’s promise.

“On almost all such occasions, we have seen administration remain vigilant or extra active for two to three days. Then things go on as usual,” Sarkar said.