Mumbai, March 8: In response to a Right to Information (RTI) query, the Mumbai traffic police department claimed that potholes and bad roads in Mumbai had caused just one fatal accident in 2018. Shakil Ahmed Shaikh, an activist, had filed an RTI  the number of fatalities due to bad roads and the number of deaths and injuries in road accidents in the city since 2014.

Responding to the RTI on February 28, the city traffic police department said only two persons died in an accident due to potholes and bad roads in 2018. The department also said 2,736 people died in road accidents between 2014-18. Of these, 2,284 victims were male. It further stated that 18,029 people were injured in road accidents since 2014. Of these, 14,150 were males. Local Train Accident Averted as Man Alerts Motorman About Fractured Rail Track.

"I find it tough to believe that a single fatal accident was caused by potholes when city roads are in such a pathetic condition. This basically indicates that police have not been recording bad roads or potholes as a reason for a road crash. The police’s job should not end at recording accidental deaths. An analysis of what caused the casualties is key," Shaikh told TOI.

A Supreme Court-appointed committee, headed by former Justice K S Radhakrishnan, said 14,926 persons had died in road accidents due to potholes in 2013-17 across the country. The apex court had called these deaths 'unacceptable' saying the number was probably more than those killed on the border or by terrorists.

“This indicates that the authorities are not maintaining roads properly,” a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur had said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 08, 2019 04:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).