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KOHIMA — Road fatalities in Nagaland have shown an upward trend over the past five years, reaching a record high in 2023 with 84 fatalities.
According to the Transport Department’s annual administrative report for 2023-24, sourced from the Police Department, a total of 311 lives were lost in road accidents from January 2019 to December 2023, with 84 fatalities in 2023, 80 in 2022, 56 in 2021, 52 in 2020, and 39 in 2019.
During these years, a total of 2,864 individuals were involved in road accidents, with the highest number recorded in 2021 when 923 persons were involved. This was followed by 710 in 2022, 537 in 2020, 378 in 2019 and 316 in 2023.
Additionally, there were 1,642 reported injury cases due to road-related accidents during this period, with 202 injuries in 2019, 340 in 2020, 430 in 2021, 344 in 2022, and 326 in 2023.
“The rate of accidents in Nagaland is on the rise and is a major concern in the State. Most of the accidents are found to be owing to rash driving, drunken driving, inadequate traffic knowledge, and poor-quality road accounts,” the report stated.
It further stated that Nagaland’s accident statistics, though relatively smaller when compared to other states in the country, contribute to India’s status as one of the countries with the highest road-related fatalities globally.
In response to these challenges, the Motor Vehicles department, serving as the lead agency for Nagaland Road Safety Authority, aims to achieve ‘Vision Zero: Zero Accidents, Zero Fatalities’ in the state within the next five years, the report stated.