Gurugram Police write to NHAI to install escalators to avoid jaywalking
151 pedestrians died in city in 2020 & 122 casualties in 2021
Gurugram, Feb. 20 (Delhi Crown): As many as 151 pedestrians lost their lives in Gurugram in 2020, while 122 people had died last year (2021) in road accidents, as people choose to jaywalking instead of using the foot overbridges (FOBs) to cross the roads.
Since January 1 this year, nine pedestrians have already lost their lives while crossing roads.
The main reason of these deaths is people taking to jaywalking instead of using FOBs to cross the roads, particularly the National Highway-8 passing through the city.
The people consider walking up the FOBs an uphill task, and find it easier to cross the roads walking amidst fast moving traffic.
In an attempt to avoid these deaths, the Gurugram Police is learnt to have written to the National Highway Authority (NHAI) to install escalators at major junctions along the National Highway to ensure that people don’t jaywalk to cross it.
The Gurugram Police have identified three FOBs that need escalators at the earliest. “There are two FOBs between Hero Honda Chowk and Kherki Daula toll plaza, and one between Rajiv Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk. They are hardly used by pedestrians,” said DCP (Traffic) Ravinder Tomar was quoted as saying.
The decision to get escalators installed along the National Highway was taken after a Gurugram Traffic Police team analysed accident data earlier this week, and found that a majority of pedestrians did not use the FOBs as it involved climbing a number of stairs.
Most pedestrians prefer darting across busy roads, leading to road accidents and deaths, added the police.
Newly appointed Commissioner of Police (CP) Kala Ramachandran was too quoted as saying that the FOBs must have escalators so that they are accessible and people use them for reaching the other side of the NH.
“We held a meeting with traffic personnel and visited the spots where overbridges have been constructed. We saw people avoiding the stairs and preferring to jaywalk,” she reportedly said.