Guwahati, April 24: Accidents on Assam's national highways claim four lives every day and lead to over 1,600 deaths per year, reveal official reports. The state Government, however, is yet to identify the main reasons behind the increasing number of road mishaps, with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi waiting for the report of a committee set up after an accident at Sonapur in which 12 bus passengers were killed.

Interestingly, Gogoi said "improved roads" built since he became the CM is one of the reasons behind these accidents. "Roads have improved during my Government, and improved roads too have led to accidents. Drunken driving could be another reason," he said, admitting that there was no highway patrolling in the state.

Transport minister Chandan Brahma had earlier this month informed the state Assembly that Assam recorded 4,403 road accidents in 2007 and 1,604 persons were killed in these mishaps. The number of persons injured stood at 5,697. Among the districts, Kamrup (Metro) recorded the highest number of accidents (626) and deaths (207). But the highest number of highway deaths (180) occurred in Nagaon, followed by Sonitpur (102).

On Monday, five persons were killed in an accident when a private deluxe bus rammed head-on with a truck on NH 31 at Raha in Nagaon district. A jail superintendent and four others were also killed as their Maruti car was crushed by a speeding bus on NH 31(B) at Abhayapuri in Bongaigaon district. On February 24, 12 persons were killed when a Guwahati-bound bus skidded off NH 37 at Sonapur near here, while a former Meghalaya minister died in a mishap on NH 37 at Chaygaon.

Brahma said that reckless driving by young and untrained drivers is the main reason behind increasing road accidents in the state. "This is not only the major cause of road accidents but also contributes to the rising toll of human lives lost in such accidents," he claimed.

The Assam Police, on its part, has launched an ambitious training programme on traffic management for its constables and inspectors, while personnel attached to police stations that touch the National Highways have been also imparted basic training on first-aid for accident victims. "We have tied up with the Red Cross and so far trained 300 police personnel in first-aid," said Kula Saikia, IGP (Training). A team of 22 Assam Police personnel was also recently sent to the Traffic Training Institute in Mumbai.

What is alarming is that while the number of vehicles is rapidly going up, so also are the accidents, Assam is yet to equip its police stations and hospitals touching the highways with ambulance service -- something other states have already introduced. "There is hardly any means to take an accident victim to the nearest hospital in a well-equipped ambulance," a doctor posted in a health centre on NH 37 said. Interestingly, while the transport minister claimed that authorities had put up mandatory road signs, traffic in Guwahati remains in a poor shape, with the city having only one crossing where traffic lights are functional and footpaths almost non-existent.