Patna: The 14km-long New Bypass road from Anishabad to the toll plaza on NH-30 has become an accident-prone zone with 10 lives having been lost in the past year.
This month alone a speeding truck killed two people, one of them a student of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the other a 45-year-old woman.
The Telegraph visited the stretch on Thursday and found overtaking was a serious problem on the stretch. Encroachment by hawkers and road-side traders added to the woes. Asked the reason behind frequent accidents on the stretch, Vijay Prasad, a New Pass road resident, said: " Ya par log bai (Bhojpuri word for hurry) mein pass karte hai, isiliye, isse bypass kahte hai (Those driving on this stretch are always in a tearing hurry, so it is called bypass). People do not have patience to wait. They are always in a tearing hurry to reach their destination and that leads to overtaking and accidents."
Being the bypass, most trucks and heavy vehicles take this stretch. The road is busy round the clock as Meethapur bus stand is just metres away. All buses leaving the bus stand, including city buses, have to go take bypass.
The authorities have put enough warning boards on the entire stretch, screaming warnings like " Durghatna se der bhali (Better to be late than to meet with an accident)" and "Rs 600 fine for overtaking" but most trucks ferrying sand, iron and other items flout the rules all the time.
Akhilesh Kumar, a government employee and resident, said people are forced to walk on the road, as there is no service lane.
This correspondent visited Dashratha Mor near Sipara on New Bypass, where the NIFT student had died. Ashes of a truck that residents torched in protest could be seen on the road.
"Five people from Dasratha have died in the past year alone," Dashratha resident Nagendra Kumar said. "People do not follow traffic rules and even deployment of traffic police is less."
A road divider near Sattarfeet locality was damaged and now resembles a slope. Many commuters mistake it for a road and drive on till their vehicle topples.
The BJP's Bankipor MLA Nitin Navin had once raised the issue in the Assembly, demanding steps to curb road accidents.
Asked about the initiative, road construction department minister Nand Kishore Yadav said: "We have asked National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to make the service lane on the stretch. NHAI regional officer A .K. Mishra and a road construction department official have gone to inspect the stretch for construction of the underpass, which will cut down traffic flow on New Bypass."
Once the Bihita-Sarmera four-lane project on State Highway 78 is completed, traffic flow will shift and congestion on NH-30 ease.
Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaj said plans are afoot to increase manpower on the stretch. "Soon, we will increase manpower on New Bypass to streamline traffic and we have to analyse how to control vehicle speed. We are also planning to install close circuit television cameras to keep a close eye on rash driving and those violating traffic rules. Once we impose fines on the stretch, it will automatically come down," Maharaj said.
