Better health facilities and setting up of trauma centres in hills could reduce death toll in Uttarakhand
Dehradun , June 22
The average death toll in road accidents in Uttarakhand per 100 accidents is much higher than the national average. On an average 26 people die in 100 road accidents in the country, while in Uttarakhand this number is 60 to 70 deaths. This was stated by Piyush Tewari, founder of Save Life Foundation at a virtual dialogue organized on the topic “Road Accidents in Uttarakhand: Challenges and Solutions” under the Sustainable Development Dialogue Series of Dehradun-based SDC Foundation. This virtual dialogue was conducted by Anoop Nautiyal, founder of SDC Foundation.
Piyush Tewari said that all concerned stakeholders need to come out of the mindset that the accident takes place only due to the fault of the driver. “We have to accept that no matter how skilled a driver is, he can make a mistake somewhere. In such a way, we should try that even after the fault of the driver, people’s lives can be saved in the accident,” he said.
He further said that by scientific investigation of every accident and adopting safe system approach, accidents and deaths due to them can be prevented.
The Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways; Government of India has asked Save LIFE Foundation to investigate the causes behind the recent, tragic road accident in Damta in district Uttarkashi on June 5, 2022 where 26 lives were lost in a bus accident. Save LIFE will be submitting it’s report soon to the authorities.
Generally two reasons are considered for any road accident, driver’s fault or overloading. The police investigation after the accident also focuses on these two points. But, in reality every accident it not caused due to just these two reasons. The condition of the vehicle and the road and the conditions of the accident site are equally responsible for the accident. If every accident is investigated in a scientific way, then we will not only be able to reach the real cause of the accident, but it will also help in preventing accidents. These were the observations of the experts during the virtual dialogue.
Dr. Madhur Uniyal, Assistant Professor and Trauma Surgery Specialist, AIIMS Rishikesh said that road accidents usually kill people who are in their productive age. In such a situation, these deaths not only harm their families but also the entire society. There is a general belief that Uttarakhand has the highest number of deaths due to disasters, but in reality a large number of deaths are also due to road accidents in the state. Citing statistics, he said that Uttarakhand is one of the highest ranking states in the number of deaths in productive age across the country and road accidents are a major reason for this.
Dr. Uniyal said on the basis of his experiences at AIIMS, Rishikesh and AIIMS, New Delhi that Delhi has a large number of non responding cases of accidents. These are the cases which require advanced health care.
But, such accident cases of Uttarakhand do not come to Rishikesh. Dr. Uniyal said that due to lack of medical facilities on or near the spot, such injured people die before reaching the hospital. Deaths in accidents in Uttarakhand can be reduced if there are primary trauma centers around the accident site and arrangements are made to reach the level one trauma centers for such serious injured at the earliest.
While conducting the program, Anoop Nautiyal, founder of SDC Foundation said that there is an alarming increase in road accidents in Uttarakhand. In the last 5 years, there have been about 7 thousand road accidents in the state and in these, about 5 thousand people have died and the same number of people have been injured. Referring to the accidents in the recent past, he said that if the primary health care system is improved, then the number of deaths due to accidents in the state can be reduced.
