'Deadly' Jalukbari–Khanapara highway stretch spurs road safety alarms

Guwahati, May 20: Road accidents have become a grave and growing concern across Assam, with Guwahati emerging as a major hotspot.

The city’s rapid infrastructure expansion — marked by multi-lane highways slicing through its urban landscape — has unfortunately been shadowed by a surge in traffic mishaps.

Among Guwahati’s most accident-prone stretches, the National Highway between Jalukbari and Khanapara stands out, often making headlines for the wrong reasons.

One of the most recent and shocking incidents occurred on April 27, when a speeding truck crashed into a stationary vehicle near the Lokhra flyover, resulting in a fatality.

Lack of pedestrian awareness and jaywalking are some reasons behind accidents in highways (AT Photo)

A dangerous combination of inadequate street lighting, lack of zebra crossings, reckless driving, and limited public awareness continues to drive up the accident rate along this increasingly dangerous corridor.

A lack of proper fencing is a cause of accidents that take place in highways (AT Photo)

Commuters face daily challenges crossing the highway due to poor traffic signals and an insufficient presence of traffic police to manage flow.

Many college students and residents living along the highway are forced to brave heavy traffic, underscoring the urgent need for footbridges.

“Highways are built for fast-moving vehicles, and there’s often no proper pedestrian infrastructure like footbridges or zebra crossings. It feels quite unsafe trying to cross,” said Nikita Saharia, a college student.

Inadequate street lights are a major cause of road accidents in highways (AT Photo)

Rupa Sarma, a Gauhati University student residing in Beltola, echoed these concerns. “Due to the lack of a footbridge and traffic police personnel, I, sometimes, feel it’s risky to cross the road. It’s even worse at night since there’s no proper street lighting.”

Beyond pedestrian safety, reckless driving and disregard for traffic rules—such as abrupt lane changes at key points—worsen the dangers.

Saraswati Kalita, a Guwahati resident, recounted a near-fatal experience while crossing near the AEC Road traffic point, narrowly avoiding a vehicle overtaking at high speed.

These concerns are particularly alarming in light of the surge in road fatalities across the city.

163 deaths were reported in Assam between December 2024-January 2025 due to road accidents (AT Photo)

Between December 24, 2024, and January 15, 2025, Assam recorded 163 deaths due to road accidents. The state ranked second highest among northeastern states in road traffic incident death rates per lakh population, second only to Arunachal Pradesh.

While many attribute the problem to negligent drivers, inadequate policing, and poor infrastructure, some also point to a lack of pedestrian awareness.

“Highways are meant to reduce travel time. People should be careful while jaywalking because it’s difficult for drivers to stop immediately,” said Arnab Das, a Guwahati resident who narrowly avoided an accident involving jaywalkers. Das also criticised the low-hanging dividers, which encourage jaywalking.

Drivers suggest implementing rumble strips near traffic points to encourage vehicles to slow down and maintain focus, especially on straight, smooth stretches.

Responding to growing concerns, an official from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), speaking anonymously, acknowledged the rise in accidents and outlined steps taken to mitigate the risks.

“We are aware of the increase in accidents and have taken measures to minimise them. These include blocking all U-turns from Jalukbari to Khanapara, directing vehicles to use U-turns under flyovers, and installing fences on dividers to prevent jaywalking,” the official told The Assam Tribune.

The NHAI also confirmed that tenders are underway for building footbridges to facilitate safer pedestrian crossings.

To curb rash driving, speedometers have been installed at accident-prone black spots along the stretch, the official added.

To curb rash driving, speedometers have been installed at accident-prone black spots along the stretch (AT Photo)