Bhubaneswar, Sept. 28: Sambalpur district police have identified 55 black spots on both the national and state highways passing through the district.

The police have identified these spots after conducting a survey and also prepared a report to curb the number of accidents at these locations.

Sambalpur superintendent of police Sanjeev Arora said: 'We will submit the report to the transport commissioner and the National Highways Authorities of India.'

He also said: 'The reasons behind the accidents at these spots and the remedial measures, which should be taken to curb the number of mishaps, have also been recommended in the report.'

'Accidents occur frequently at these black spots. If the remedial measures are taken, the number of accidents can be reduced and valuable lives saved,' said Arora.

The district police have compiled reports of the number of accidents in the past two-and-a-half years from January 1, 2015, to June 30 this year at these spots and have recommended corrective measures to curb the number.

Around 856 accidents have taken place at these spots during the period. While 194 people died in the accidents, 663 people suffered injuries to varying degrees.

Prominent among these black spots are Sason Bypass on the Sambalpur-Rourkela highway, Godbhaga Chhak on NH-6, Berhampura Chhak at Charmal on the NH-55, Hindola Ghat of Charmal on NH-55, Tunguraguda under Kuchinda police limits and Junani Chowk at Kuchida on NH-49, Shyam DRI Steel Plant at Rengali on the Sambalpur-Rourkela highway.

The measures recommended to curb accidents at these specific spots include construction of flyovers, subways, humps, traffic signals, creation of no-parking zones, installation of retro-reflectors, engineering changes and widening of roads, and putting up road signage related to speed limit and drink driving.