Bhubaneswar: A total of 25,257 deaths due to accidents have been reported in Odisha in from 2017 to 2021, stated Commerce & Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu on Thursday in a written reply to a query of BJP MLA Mohan Charan Majhi.
As per the data provided by the Minister, 10,855 accident cases had been reported in 2017 in which 4790 persons had died. In 2018, the number of accidents was 11,262 and 5315 persons died. In 2019, the number of accidents was 11,064 and 5333 persons died.
In 2020, the number of accidents reported was 9817 and 4738 persons had died. Finally, in 2021, the number of accidents was 10,984 and 5081 persons died.
The Minister also informed that a total of 1.69 crore has been provided as compensation from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to the next of kin of deceased persons who died due to road accidents between 2018-2022.
In 2018-19, a total of Rs 74 lakh was provided to 34 families of five districts; in 2019-20, a total of 50 lakh was provided to 22 families of three districts; in 2020-21, a total of Rs 5 lakh was provided to one family; in 2021-22, a total of Rs 34 lakh was provided to 17 families of three districts; and in 2022-23, a total of Rs 6 lakh has been provided to three families of one district.
In reply to another query of BJD MLA Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy, the Minister informed that as per World Health Organization’s report, the annual road accident death in India is around 1.5 lakhs and in Odisha is around 5000.
As per the data received from State Crime Branch, the percentage of deaths of different road users due to road accidents in Odisha during 2021 are:
- 11.84% Pedestrians
- 3.50% Cyclists
- 49.81% Motor Cyclists
- 10.52% Car
- 8.48% Truck
- 2.49% Bus
As per the report “Road Accidents in India 2020” published by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, the death per 100 road accidents in Odisha is 48.
