The sharp turn at Alpana Market in Patna where the accident occured on Monday. Other blind spots in the city , too, can prove dangerous for commuters. Pictures by Ashok Sinha and Jai Prakash

Patna, Aug. 8: A lorry ran over a woman at a sharp turn near Alpana Market Mor in the Patliputra area this morning, exposing dangers lurki- ng on the unmanned city streets.

The victim, 50-year-old Radha Devi, was walking along the stretch when the lorry of a private firm coming from the opposite side ran her over. A resident of Yarpur in Gardanibagh, Radha died on the spot.

The authorities ignored the danger lurking at the blind spot. The cops hardly bothered to man the area.

The unfortunate death of Radha barely had any impact on police. Contrary to the claim of giving a human face to policing, they started passing the buck when asked about the absence of policemen on the spot.

“It is the job of the traffic police and not us. The lorry has been confiscated and the victim’s body has been sent for post-mortem. The police have their patrolling parties but managing traffic is not a police station’s job,” an officer at the Patliputra police station said.

Commuters feel only the deployment of cops can put brakes on mishaps at the sharp turn.

“Two months ago, we used to see some policemen at the spot. They used to ask the motorists to slow down when approaching this turn. But now they are hardly seen. The turn is a dangerous spot. Minor accidents are common everyday,” Ramashish Kumar, a resident the area, said.

“The existing speed breaker on one side of the turn is in a mess. There is no such facility on the other side,” Ramashish added.

The dangerous stretch connects Patliputra roundabout with Patliputra water tank. Patliputra water tank-bound commuters slow down because of a small speed breaker. But there is no such caution for those going towards Patliputra roundabout.

The Alpana Market Mor area is a heavy traffic zone. There are several schools and hundreds of children commute through this stretch. But there is hardly anybody to man it.

“This is a great example of irresponsibility on the part of the authorities, be it the police or the local administration. It is a dangerous turn but there is no signage to caution the commuters. Nor is there any cop on the spot. The young bikers just zoom through the turn. Around three weeks back, a motorbike hit a school student. The biker fled after the incident,” Ravi Kumar, another resident of the area, said.

A regular commuter said the mishap was inevitable at the blind turn.

“More accidents can occur in the area if the police do not deploy personnel on the either side of the sharp turn. Speed breakers should be erected and signage should be installed to alert the commuters about the blind turn,” the commuter said.

A senior police officer said: “An accident has occurred and the police need to look into its cause. The cops of the area said the woman was on the wrong side.”

With regard to the blind turn, the officer said the police would work out the steps to be taken to avoid mishaps in the future.