Telangana DGP C.V. Anand during a review meeting with Transport Commissioner Ilambarithi and other officers on Wednesday (October 7).
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
Where are people dying on Telangana’s roads, at what time are crashes recurring, and is a flaw in the road itself contributing to them? With a ‘Zero Fatalities’ goal, authorities have been asked to answer these questions for seven high-accident districts as the State draws up a targeted plan to bring down road deaths.
The exercise has already narrowed the problem down considerably, said DGP C.V. Anand on Wednesday. Across Medchal-Malkajgiri, Ranga Reddy, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Sangareddy, Hanamkonda, Warangal and Jangaon, 48 critical accident corridors, 230 ‘Priority-1’ zones, 220 traffic violation hotspots and 183 critical pedestrian accident zones have been identified.
Mr. Anand reviewed the plan with Transport Commissioner Ilambarithi through a video conference on Wednesday, and asked officials to move beyond treating crashes as isolated incidents and study patterns in accident locations, timings, road design and engineering defects.
The seven districts are among the 100 districts in the country selected for a special road safety initiative following directives of the Central government and the Supreme Court. Special district road safety action plans have been drawn up with the ‘Zero Fatalities’ goal guiding measures to reduce deaths.
The accident map throws up particularly concerning numbers in two districts. Sangareddy has 14 critical accident corridors, the highest among the seven, while Ranga Reddy alone has 98 priority accident zones, 99 traffic violation hotspots and 66 critical pedestrian accident zones.
The priority zones are locations where four or more fatalities have been recorded. The district-wise road safety plans were prepared by the SafeLife Foundation using e-DAR statistics from 2024 and 2025.
The DGP said that the intervention will follow the ‘4E’ approach: Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Emergency Support. “Officials have been told to identify and rectify road defects contributing to crashes, step up enforcement and ensure that those injured receive immediate medical care,” he said.
He further stated that more than 7,000 people die in road accidents in Telangana every year, while around 1.75 lakh road fatalities are recorded annually across the country. Telangana, he said, ranks seventh nationally in road accident deaths.
Accident data will now play a central role in deciding where interventions are required. Officials have been directed to record every crash through an Electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) and feed information on fatalities, injuries, causes, accident-prone stretches and peak crash timings into the ‘Margadarshak’ portal. Geo-tagged photographs of crash sites can also be uploaded.
The State government is also moving towards establishing a Road Safety Management Bureau under the Police Department, with a GO expected soon.
The immediate deadline for the seven districts is November 3, when the Chief Secretary and DGP are scheduled to present, in Chennai, the measures taken and the action plan prepared to prevent road accidents in the State.
Published – October 07, 2026 09:08 pm IST
