‘Road accident fatalities hit 30-year low in 2020’
A vegetable stall in SDA market with a wall that has extraordinary detailing
NEW DELHI: Fatalities due to road accident in the national capital dipped to a 30-year low last year, data released by Delhi traffic police data shows.
Data released during the Delhi Police annual press conference on Friday showed that in 2020, 1,163 fatal accidents were reported in the city. This was nearly 19% less than the fatal accidents reported in 2019, which was 1,433. Special commissioner of police (traffic) Taj Hassan said that this reduction in the fatal accidents in the Capital was the lowest in 30 years.
Though the police did not share data of last 30 years, statistics available on the Delhi police’s website shows that 1163 fatal accidents in 2020 was the lowest since 2000 at least.
“The key strategy used by the traffic police to reduce road accidents was a combination of increased deployment of personnel on the roads, improvement of road engineering solutions and increasing road safety awareness campaigns,” said Hassan.
Data shows that the city has been seeing a steadily declining trend of fatal accidents. In 2018, the number of accidents that lead to the deaths of those involved was 1,657, which was nearly 14% higher than 1433 in 2019
The presentation made by the traffic department also showed that the number of traffic violations last year had also seen a jump compared to 2019.
In 2020, 13,802,973 violations were reported, as compared to 10,580,249 in 2019. The amount collected in challans had also gone up from ₹94.07 crore in 2019 to ₹124.16 crore in 2020.
Manish Agarwal, joint commissioner of police (traffic), said that the department has also been able to improve prosecutions even though the city dealt with a nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, which kept private vehicles off the roads for nearly four months. This, he said, was also because the traffic police relied a lot on camera-based prosecutions last year.
“Currently, we have around three to four types of camera prosecutions—to detect speeding, red light jumping and stop line violations, and to check unauthorised parking,” said Agarwal.
Traffic officials stressed that the department will continue to increase the use of technology throughout 2021. For instance, the Delhi traffic police are planning to implement Phase-ii of the intelligent traffic monitoring system, which will increase the use of camerabased policing and therefore prosecutions, leading to a deterrence among drivers.
“The department will be preparing a detailed project report (DPR) of ITMS for an integrated implementation of the technology. We are also planning to improve enforcement and regulation for better traffic management and also improve coordination with civic agencies and other stakeholders,” Hassan said.
POLICE DATA SHOWED THAT IN 2020, 1,163 FATAL ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED IN THE CITY, NEARLY 19% LESS THAN THE FATAL ACCIDENTS REPORTED IN 2019
Unidentified persons murdered a 50-year-old man in Muradnagar on Friday morning.
Police said that the victim, Aas Mohammad, suffered multiple blows with a sword. The incident took place on the main Eidgah Colony Road. Mohammad
was a resident of the locality.
His family filed a complaint in the case.
“They did not name anyone, and we registered an FIR for murder against unidentified person. The victim suffered multiple injuries. We suspect some personal grudge behind the incident. We have formed teams and trying to locate the suspect,” said Iraj Raja, superintendent of police (rural). “We are trying to probe all angles which may have led to the crime.”
One day, when we will buy all our veggies online, this stall might be recreated on canvas by artists pining for the recent past.
It’s a long establishment on the pavement. The counter has a series of plastic crates, upon which is arranged another set of crates, in which lie gobhi (cauliflower), carrots, spinach, brinjal, lauki (bottle gourd) and so on—producing a vibrant symphony of colours. This by itself isn’t extraordinary.
But the wall behind shows a palette of extraordinary detailing that screams for attention. It is decked up with a clock, a few old-fashioned switchboards, and very many posters, all of which have a religious flavour, showing pivotal scenes from timeless epics.
Such is the enchanting world of this unnamed vegetable stall at Bhim Nagri Mini Market, in south Delhi’s SDA colony. It’s a rare sighting. These days you are bound to see either footpath shacks in the weekly mandi, or vendors wheeling their elemental thelas about the hoods, crying out “aloo le lo”. Each neighbourhood still does have at least one permanent veggie shop, but rarely does it have a character as rich as our current object of interest.
One can keep staring at the wall for many minutes. Every poster contains a world. One shows Arjun and Lord Krishna on the battleground of the Mahabharata. Another has a baby Krishna with his finger upon his lips, as if asking the viewer, “Can you keep a secret?” Next to it, a big poster shows Lord Hanuman with a special Hanuman aarti printed in the lower half.
“This is like a temple,” admits Sargam Lal Shukla, the person manning the counter this afternoon. “I was born at the feet of lord Ram,” he says, referring to the city of Ayodhya in UP. He informs that the stall was “opened by my tauji Phool Singh in 1965”.
He now pulls out his cycle and rides away to deliver broccoli, zucchini and mushrooms to a home nearby. The stall falls silent.
One can inspect about in greater concentration, each facet looking so well-settled that the stall appears to be growing out from the very soil of this footpath. But then you notice the roof, which is but a sheet of raggedy canvas spread upon wooden ballis. That such an improvised arrangement looks so rooted is a wonder. And the consequent wonder — if this 50-year-old stall can survive 50 more years on this spot — makes it even more precious. You ought to celebrate this place as one of those landmarks that give our city its illusion of permanence, while themselves being so fragile.