India is one of the leading countries when it comes to the number of road accidents registered every year. With a vast national highway network in the country, a large chunk of road accidents take place on these highways across India. Black spots are one of the key reasons behind these road accidents and Tamil Nadu has the highest number of black spots in the national highway network, according to a report by PTI.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari has reportedly said that Tamil Nadu has the most number of black spots in the country’s national highway network. He said that the government has identified a total of 5,803 black spots in the entire national highway network in the country.
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In response to a question in Lok Sabha, the minister said that Tamil Nadu has the maximum of 748 identified black spots on national highways, followed by West Bengal and Telangana. West Bengal and Telangana have 701 and 485 black spots on national highways, he reportedly said. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Gadkari said state or Union Territory (UT)-wise details of the accidents and fatalities at these black spots are based on the data for 2018-2020 received from different states.
Black spots are considered those places on national highways where a stretch of about 500 metres and at least five road accidents have taken place during the last three years, resulting in 10 fatalities. These stretches are marked as black spots by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
Gadkari reportedly said that the NHAI has spent an amount of ₹15,702.80 crore for the repair and maintenance of black spots. “National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has spent an amount of ₹15,702.80 crore for repair and maintenance, including measures taken for improvement of above said black spots on NHs entrusted to NHAI during the last five financial years 2018-19 to 2022-23,” the minister added.
First Published Date: 24 Dec 2023, 11:28 AM IST