Himachal high on accident-prone spots

Himachal Pradesh has 314 accident-prone spots and 3,686 vehicles were involved in accidents in one year, the assembly was informed Friday.

The police have identified road accident spots on the basis of a survey of the vehicles involved in the accident, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said in a written reply.

From Dec 25, 2012 to Dec 31, 2013, a total of 3,686 vehicles were involved in the accidents, he said.

Virbhadra Singh, who also holds the home portfolio, said police patrol teams have been deployed to check accidents.

He said a sum of Rs.12.21 crore was disbursed among the kin of next of dead and among the injured in road accidents from 2012-13.

Transport Minister G.S. Bali told reporters that the state government has requested the central government to make it mandatory to construct crash-barriers on roads located at a height of 4,000 feet and above.

"The central government should make it mandatory to construct crash-barriers in all the Himalayan states," he said.

He said he had written a letter to union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, requesting him to make it mandatory to construct the crash-barriers.