The police commissioner of Calcutta, Manoj Verma, said on Monday that the fatalities from road accidents in Calcutta declined from 191 in 2024 to 154 in 2025, the lowest figure recorded in any metro city.
According to Verma, the subsequent decline in the city’s fatality rate was a consequence of the “Safe Drive Save Life” program, which was started in 2016.
“I am happy to announce that the number of fatal accidents in the city in 2025 was 154, which is the lowest across all metro cities. In 2024, the number of fatalities was 191. From where the number has gone down to 154 last year,” Verma said.
The Safe Drive Save Life project was launched by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in 2016.
“It is apparent that people have become aware of the traffic rules and violations. This drop in the number of fatalities can be attributed to the success of the Safe Drive Save Life campaign,” Verma said.
Verma recalled that when he was the deputy commissioner (traffic) in Calcutta in 2007-2008, the number of fatalities used to be around 400.
“After that, the area of the city increased as additional areas were included,” Verma said.
However, the number of road accident deaths has
reduced over the years, he said.
The number of deaths may have come down, but many Calcuttans would say the city’s roads are no safer. Prosecution is often lax, and the lack of footpath space forces pedestrians to walk on road spaces, increasing the dangers manifold.
Verma was speaking at the launch of the jersey for the Kolkata Police Safe Drive Save Life Half Marathon at the Lalbazar conference room in the presence of other senior police officers and actor-turned-politician Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev.