Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Feb 05 : The Government of India on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that 224 accident-prone black spots have been identified on National Highways across the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, out of which short-term rectification has been completed at 170 locations and long-term corrective measures at 62 spots.
The information, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), was shared in a written reply to an unstarred question (No. 1124) raised by Dr Bhola Singh regarding road safety improvements on National Highways.
Replying on behalf of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari said that road safety audits are conducted through independent third-party experts at all stages—design, construction and operation—to identify causes of accidents such as design deficiencies, lack of signage, poor lighting and traffic management issues.
The Minister further said that road safety is an integral part of every National Highway project, with 2.21 to 15 per cent of project cost earmarked for safety-related measures, depending on terrain and structures involved—(KNO)
