Visakhapatnam: Cops turn Good Samaritans to control road mishaps

Visakhapatnam: It has become a challenging task for the traffic police to prevent accidents that occur frequently at a 23-km long stretch of National Highway that falls under Anakapalle police station jurisdiction.

Instead of waiting for the department concerned to take necessary measures and preventive steps, Circle Inspector Guggilapu Srinivasa Rao along with his team embarked on a voluntary initiative to prevent road accidents. In line with this, a survey has been carried out for 'Mission Accident Prevention' to analyse the black spots, risky medians along the stretch and identified 23 such spots to be repaired.

Based on the survey, the CI initiated action by seeking the support of local cement factories, including Chettinadu, Ramco and Nagarjuna cement companies. Along with this, assistance was also sought from other business sectors.

Initially, the cops procured 100 stoppers to place at the paths where there's a larger scope for traffic violations and where there is no median. Apparently, the measure has prevented road accidents to a large extent.

To ensure the stoppers remain intact, measures are also taken to engage a safe way maintenance team at the spot.

Earlier, accidents used to be registered at Narsingabilli every 15 days. However, after engaging the safe way maintenance team, the recurring accidents in the area have been substantially controlled.

In addition, road corrosions and potholes that dot along Maredupudi junction to Atchutapuram village have been identified. Involving the locals and seeking the support of the factories, Srinivasa Rao mentioned that steps were taken to repair the roads. "A 20-mt stretch at Bayyavaram was in a very bad shape. It was not even fit to take up repair works. We have built a 30-mt width road along the stretch. The move has certainly helped in preventing road accidents to a large extent," explains the CI.

Similarly, pedestrian guard railing was arranged for the safety of the pedestrians.

Speaking to The Hans India, Srinivasa Rao says, "We are able to address several issues along the 23-km stretch of National Highway with the encouragement of Superintendent of Police, Visakha district, B Krishna Rao."

In the days to come, the cops are striving hard to transform the area into an accident-free zone in Anakapalle.