THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In spite of being the smallest, Alappuzha continues to top in accidents and accident deaths among 19 police districts of Kerala.
Around 367 people lost their lives in 2,962 accidents in Alappuzha in 2014 alone.
Though the police department claims that the deaths were reduced from 394 in 2013 due stricter enforcement, the number of mishaps has only increased from 2,843 in the previous year.
Even as home minister Ramesh Chennithala aims to bring down accident deaths by 30 percent in 2015, his home district remains to be the accident capital with its narrow roads and unscientific road system.
Kareelakulangara, Cherthala, Ambalapuzha and Thottapally on the NH 47 bypass together contribute to most accidents in the district.
Cherthala, a synonym to mishaps after the death of actress Monisha in 1992, continues to witness not less than six accidents every week. Areas like Aroor, X-Ray Junction, Police Station Junction, Pattanakadu, Chandiroor and Pattanakadavu here vastly contributes to the numbers.
As per Road Safety expert Upendra Narayanan, encroachments on the banks of NH-47 bypass contribute vastly to most of the accidents. “Several traffic signals have been installed on the road but encroachments particularly around Ambalapuzha vastly contribute to accidents,” a local activist said.
Thiruvananthapuram rural district, with 361 deaths from around 2,000 accident cases trailed right behind Alappuzha in terms of mishaps in 2014.
