UP government to close all illegal cuts on national highways to avert accidents

Uttar Pradesh government has reportedly taken cognizance of the road accidents occurring in the state due to illegally made cuts on the national highways. ANI has reported that the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to close all illegal cuts on the national highways in the state to avert accidents.

The district magistrates across the state have been reportedly instructed to immediately close all such cuts. The report has also reported that the UP Chief Minister's Office (CMO) has instructed the officials in the state to regularly monitor after the closure of the illegal cuts to avoid their recurrence on national highways.

India has a vast network of roadways and a large chunk of them are national highways, where an alarmingly high number of road accidents are recorded every year. In fact, India is among the leading countries in the world when it comes to a high number of road accidents and resultant deaths and critical injuries.

While traffic rule violation is a major reason behind fatal accidents, unauthorized cuts or faulty road designs too play key roles in major accidents. The unauthorised cuts on national highways pose a risk of major accidents, involving even school buses sometimes. With the order to close the illegal cuts on national highways, the Uttar Pradesh government is reportedly aiming to reduce road accidents and resultant deaths in the state.

The report has further cited that in a meeting, the Implicit Legislation Committee (Pratinihit Vidhayan Samiti) of the UP State Assembly held on 20th November 2023, discussions were held to amend the Uttar Pradesh Motor Vehicle Rules for the operation of school vehicles to ensure the safety of school children. The committee reportedly expressed serious concern over the excessive accidents occurring in the state due to illegal cuts on the national highways and urged officials to direct concerned departments and officials to plug all such illegal cuts immediately.