The country’s financial capital has earned the dubious distinction of being the nation’s death capital as well, with the highest number of accident deaths.
The latest figures by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) on accidental deaths in 2008, show that Mumbai accounted for 18.5% of the total number in 35 mega cities.
Traffic accidents comprised road, rail-road and other railway accidents. Fire was also a major cause of accidental deaths.
State-wise Maharashtra reported the highest number of accidental deaths - 58,755 out of 3,42,309 - nationwide in 2008.
Nationwide, during 2008, the number of road accidents, fire accidents and heart attacks increased compared to the previous year. About 3.5 lakh accidental deaths were reported in the country in 2008, of which 93% were due to unnatural causes while the rest were due to causes attributable to nature like lightening, floods, starvation, heatstroke, etc.
Also, throughout the country, men constituted 77.1% of accident death victims, most aged between 15 to 44 years.
Roads: Road indiscipline by motorists who flout traffic rules and regulations has been cited as the major cause of accidents in Mumbai.
As per statistics available with the traffic department of the Mumbai police, in 2008, there were 6,613 road accidents, in which 662 people were killed. Of these, the Western Express highway recorded 697 accidents, in which 86 people died. Likewise, on the Eastern Express Highway, 59 people were killed.
The highest number of accidents was caused by cars, in which casualties were 105, followed by lorries, which caused 94 deaths. Mumbai recorded 71 hit-and-run cases in which 71 people were killed. Two-wheelers caused 68 accidents in which 71 were killed.
However, after the traffic police cracked the whip on drunken driving in 2006, the number of such accidents has fallen.
Other campaigns too, such as the sustained drive against speeding and jumping signals has resulted in better road discipline. “As a precautionary measure, we identified chronic accident spots and deployed traffic personnel there,” said Mirza Beg, assistant commissioner of police, (Khar division).
Railways: The Mumbai railway police cited two major reasons for people being killed or injured in railway accidents. One was commuters travelling on the footboard of crowded locals who either fell from running trains or hit their head against railway poles. The second was people staying in slum colonies along with the railway tracks who frequently crossed tracks illegally. In 2009, there were 3,706 deaths on the city’s railway tracks.
“To counter this, the Railways have constructed concrete walls along both sides of the tracks,” said Tukaram Chavan, commissioner of Mumbai Railway Police.
