* Five persons were injured in separate accidents.

All these accidents took place last Sunday. However, other days don’t tell a different tale on killer Jalandhar roads. On an average, 10 people die daily in accidents in the state and as many mishaps go unreported.

The main reason for fatalities on the road is people driving recklessly and violating rules. And when the policemen try to wield the iron rod, the violators drop VIP names to avoid challan. One such example was seen in Amritsar, where a BJP MLA sat on a dharna when a vehicle of his close aide was challaned. Similarly in Ludhiana, Akali MLAs staged a protest when the police challaned vehicle of a legislator’s brother. While in Amritsar the policeman was suspended, in Ludhiana, a cop was told to pay the challan fee.

Jumping red light and dismantling road dividers to make shortcuts is quite common in Doaba region.

The data procured from the traffic police revealed that in 2007, over 3,300 people had died in road accidents, while this number was a little over 2,900 in 2006 in the state. In Jalandhar alone, 187 people died in road mishaps. On Jalandhar-Cholang route, 189 accidents took place last year in which 29 persons died.

Though Punjab traffic police have been trying to educate people every year about road rules and traffic weeks have also celebrated every year, where seminars and practical training sessions are held to guide students and citizens, the number of casualties is rising.

Drunken driving is also adding to the number of accidents in the city. Last week, a drunk driver ran over a girl and injured over 10 people while escaping from the spot.