Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Even with strict lockdown and shutdowns due to Covid, there were huge cases of road accident-related deaths in the country last year as per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, India recorded 1.20 lakh cases of ‘deaths due to negligence relating to road accidents in 2020. It meant just over a 10% decrease in numbers compared to what was recorded in 2019 (1.36 lakh) and 2018 (1.35 lakh).
Meanwhile, in Odisha, it was hoped that there will be a decrease in road accident deaths during the lockdowns which was imposed during the second wave of the pandemic post-April 2021. But the number of fatalities caused by road accidents was not significantly lower.
As per the NCRB report, in ‘Hit and Run’ cases, there were 41,196 cases in 2020, compared to 47,504 in 2019 and 47,028 in 2018. Cases of causing ‘hurt’ by rash or negligent driving on roads were 1.30 lakh in 2020, while it was 1.60 lakh in 2019 and 1.66 lakh in 2018. ‘Grievous hurt’ cases stood at 85,920, 1.12 lakh and 1.08 lakh, respectively, in the three consecutive years.
