It’s natural to get misled by the smooth SG Highway. If you’re on the wheel adventurously zipping past other vehicles there, you are endangering your life. It’s the most accident-prone stretch in Ahmedabad. The City Road Safety Committee had warned that the highway has nine of the 97 most accident-prone spots. In March last year, four accidents were reported on this stretch.
The city traffic police claimed that the Andaz Party Plot junction on SG Highway topped the danger list with 15 road accidents, followed by the ramp leading to the flyover near Rajpath Club which reported 13 accidents in recent times. The ISCON crossroads was listed third with 10 road accidents, and the underpass near Pakwan junction was declared fourth.
The incident on Thursday — a speeding Jaguar killed nine people — wasn’t an unexpected occurrence. According to reports, there are no signposts to put a limit on speeding cars, especially on six flyovers built over the crossroads. The speed-obsessed put the pedal on the metal at 82-100 kmph.
Reports have also highlighted how people park two-wheelers in areas where no footpaths have been constructed. Some do not even hesitate to walk on the flyovers at night. While an underpass was constructed at the Thaltej junction, the highway, without a foot overbridge, has become a death trap.
Even though the government has invested Rs 1,000 crore to upgrade the highway — this, along with adding four flyovers — nothing has been done to secure pedestrians.
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