'12,264 people died in 35,853 road accidents in Maha in 2017'

Maharashtra reported 12,264 deaths in 35,853 road accidents last year, the state Assembly was told today.

In a written reply, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the lower House that 20,465 people were injured in these mishaps.

Fadnavis also stated that 9,243 accidents took place on state roads between January and March 2018 in which 3361 people died.

Urban areas reported 27 per cent of the accidents during January-March period while remaining mishaps occurred in rural areas.

The percentage of deaths in rural and urban areas was 83 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, Fadnavis added.

Referring to the National Crime Record Bureau report for 2015, the CM said the state was ranked third in the country when it came to the number of road accidents.

To another question, Fadnavis said that 938 people were killed in the accidents on the Mumbai-Pune highway, Mumbai-Goa national highway in Raigad district and national highway number 166 between 2014 and May 2018.

A total of 2322 individuals received serious injuries and 932 others minor injuries in these accidents, he added.

Fadnvais, who also holds Home portfolio, replied in negative while responding to a question on whether the accidents occurred due to negligence of police.

He attributed the mishaps to recklessness of motorists.

The chief minister informed that there are 1324 accident-prone areas in the state.

He also listed several measures taken by the government to curb the number of accidents, including implementation of road safety policy, construction of speed breakers at accident-prone places and initiation of action against motorists who violate norms.