Nearly 50% Of Road Accident Deaths Are Bikers In Odisha, Says Minister

Bhubaneswar: In a caution to bike riders, it has been revealed that nearly 50% of road accident deaths in Odisha in the last 5 years are bikers.

In a reply to the question of BJP legislator and Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi in the Assembly on Thursday, Commerce and Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu said more than 25,000 people have died in road accidents in the last five years with an average of 14 deaths everyday in the state.

Giving the yearwise details, the minister said 4790 people died in road accidents in 2017, while there were 5315 accident deaths in 2018, 5333 in 2019, 4738 in 2020 and 5081 in 2021.

Approximately 49.81% of the total deaths in road accidents in 2021 were bikers. Similarly, pedestrians accounted for 11.84%, while 10.52% were car users, 8.48% truckers, 3.50% cyclists and 2.49% bus users, Sahu said.

She further said the government has paid about Rs 49,50,000 from the Solatium Fund to 29 road accident victims in 2019, Rs 1,11,00,000 to 63 beneficiaries in 2020, Rs 2,93,50,000 to 164 in 2021 and Rs 7,40,50,000 to 116 persons in 2022 (up to June).

As per the norms, the government pays Rs 2,00,000 to legal heir of the person killed in road accident caused by unidentified vehicle and Rs 50,000 in case of grievous injury.