Multiple fatalities in road accidents puts Bengal government on notice

A spate of deaths in road accidents have raised questions regarding the safety standards in Kolkata with officials scrambling into action

The West Bengal Transport Department has sprung into action after several children died in a fatal accident on Kolkata streets this week. Senior officials along with the Kolkata police held a meeting to discuss measures, including a fixed salary for bus drivers, to arrest such accidents in the future. 

An 11-year-old child died in the Salt Lake area on Tuesday, after a scooter was hit by a speeding bus. Police said that the child on the scooter was declared dead after reaching the nearest hospital. A mother and another child riding the scooter were injured in the accident as well. The mother complained that the police posted in the area did not help them. This triggered large scale protests in the city.

This incident brought to light the poor road safety in Kolkata and raised questions about the condition of public transport which led to many of these accidents. In the aftermath of the incident, citizens highlighted several deaths in similar accidents that occurred in recent times. Government officials along with the Kolkata police responded to this and held an official meeting to sort the issues surrounding this tragedy. 

After the meeting, West Bengal Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty said that road rage and rash driving will no longer be permitted on the streets of Kolkata. He added that if anyone is killed in such an incident, a case of murder would be filed against the driver. “The commission system in buses leads to underpaid staff driving rashly in crowded streets to eke out a little extra cash and win in the competition with other buses. We have asked for a change in this system and ordered a salary system for drivers,” Mr. Charkaborty added.

Officials said new measures would take seven days to finalise but verbal orders have been issued. 

Commenting on the issue, former State Transport Minister and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim commented said, “I asked them to start a Standard Operating System. Anyone who does not follow said procedure should have their licence cancelled. GPS systems will also be installed to track bus movements as an additional safety feature.” 

Past deaths 

Severe violence had erupted in south Kolkata’s Behala area in August 2023, after a class two student was killed after being hit by a lorry. This led to violent protests in the area where locals set fire to a police van and government buses. 

Another similar tragedy unfolded in February 2024, when a class seven girl was killed on VIP Road after being hit by a truck while riding on her mother’s scooter. 

In another such incident, a 17-year-old boy fell off a speeding bus and was run over. The boy’s parents alleged that they were assaulted by the police when they tried to seek justice for their deceased son. 

Road accidents 

According to the Government of India data, West Bengal stands 11th with regards to road accident fatalities. Data from 2022 says that 2,938 pedestrians were killed while 863 two-wheeler riders died. 

The government of West Bengal had also launched a ‘Safe Drive. Save Life’ campaign in 2016 in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had raised concerns about the increasing number of road traffic accidents. Ms. Banerjee advised traffic officers for strict enforcement with sensitive handling of defaulters.  

But the implementation of this scheme has been difficult, especially when it comes to public transport. Mr. Chakraborty said, “We ourselves have seen rash driving by buses on the roads.”

Published - November 15, 2024 08:28 pm IST