Highway site marked 'blackspot' but no action

The stretch of highway where an explosion from an LPG tanker leak killed 13 people on Friday was identified as a high-risk "blackspot" by Indian highway authorities, but safety improvements remained largely incomplete despite mounting casualties at the site, government records show.

- Senjuti Sengupta

JAIPUR:

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) data reveals that the Bhankrota section of NH-48, where Friday's deadly crash occurred, was among seven dangerous zones identified on the Jaipur-Kishangarh route earlier this year. However, only 55% of planned safety improvements had been completed at the site by November, the lowest progress rate among all identified hazard zones in the region.

The death toll from Friday's explosion rose to 13 on Saturday, with seven people still unaccounted for and several more battling for their lives in critical condition. The disaster began when a truck collided with an LPG tanker attempting a U-turn near Delhi Public School at 5:25 am, creating a fireball that engulfed 34 vehicles.

Police records paint a stark picture of the location's dangers: 84 accidents occurred in the Bhankrota highway section this year alone, claiming 38 lives and injuring 54 others. December had already seen seven crashes before Friday's catastrophe.

"The registered cases are only the fatal ones. But, three to four accidents take place in this area daily," said Bhankrota station house officer Manish Gupta, whose office is within a kilometre of the crash site. "The poor condition of the roads, and the unplanned flyover projects are the biggest challenge to manage the traffic here."