April 21: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has asked Bengal police to intensify vigil on the Howrah-Kharagpur stretch of NH6 to bring down road deaths.

At least eight people have died in accidents in the Uluberia area this year despite the Safe Drive Save Life campaign by the police.

NHAI officials have met district administrative officials in Howrah to convey their concerns about the state of affairs on the highway that connects Calcutta to Surat.

"The biggest challenge is the industrial estate in Uluberia. Employees on cycles keep moving on the highway throughout the day," an NHAI official, who oversees the stretch, said. "There's negligible police presence here."

Howrah has industrial estates in Bauria, Baltikuri and Uluberia. "The one at Birshibpur in Uluberia is spread over 116 acres and has 71 units that employ more than 10,000 people, mostly those living in nearby areas," a Bengal industrial development corporation official said.

Two-wheelers, be it cycles, bikes or scooters, remain the best transport bet for them, the official said.

There are three traffic guards in the Howrah rural police area and Uluberia has one. But it is short of manpower, multiple police sources said. The same holds true for Uluberia police station.

"Deulia market near Kolaghat is the other problem area. Even after expanding the road to six lanes, traders continue to set up shops on the highway," another NHAI official said. "You can't have bazaars on highways. The NHAI can't do much unless the East Midnapore district administration intervenes in the matter."

In October, the NHAI did a black spot study on the highway to identify accident-prone pockets. Domjur, Dhulagarh and Laxmanpur were found to be the most dangerous areas.

Official said Uluberia could well be the fourth spot given the number of accidents in the area over the past six months.

"We have already had meetings with the Bengal traffic police brass. They have suggested putting up more cautionary signage," an NHAI official said. "But even with all this, it's almost impossible to change the behaviour of drivers."

The NHAI will do a safety audit of the Howrah-East Midnapore stretch of NH6 along the lines of the one carried out on Durgapur Expressway to find if there is any engineering flaw with the road.