ગુજરાતી
English
Gujarat’s roads have become roads of death
3 thousand km. roads washed away, 16 thousand potholes
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, July 16, 2025
Due to poor quality in the rains, 3 thousand km of roads in Gujarat were washed away in 2025. There were 16 thousand potholes on the road. Which is considered to be barely 10 percent in reality. There may be one and a half lakh potholes on all the roads of the state.
The dilapidated condition of the roads testifies to corruption. Despite poor work, the government achieved the title of a big achievement by not taking any action against the contractors doing the work, but by filling the potholes. There are BJP governments in 17 metropolitan cities. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is in charge of the Road and Housing Department.
The number of dilapidated roads and accidents increased. Roads breaking down and getting washed away in rainwater is a matter of shame for the government. According to the India Status Report on Road Safety 2024, in 1990, the probability of an Indian dying in a road accident in the country was 40%. But by 2021, this figure has increased to 600%. Which shows that deaths in road accidents are increasing rapidly.
In 2023, 1.80 lakh people may lose their lives in accidents. The reason for which is bad roads. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that in 2023, 1 lakh 80 thousand people may lose their lives in road accidents in India. In which Gujarat’s share is about 5%.
Every day 1263 road accidents occur in India and 461 deaths occur. And every hour 19 deaths and 53 road accidents occur. 7% of these deaths occur in Gujarat. Gujarat’s share in the total accidents in the country is 4%, but the deaths are more.
Due to bad roads, vehicles were taking 35 percent more time to pass. The Road and Construction Department does not pay heed to the complaints of citizens. Therefore, the number of users on the ‘Gujmarg’ app increased from 10,767 to 28,449. Online registrations increased by 164% due to the poor condition of the government’s roads.
C.R. Patil’s Navsari Municipality receives 80 complaints related to potholes every day. Here, complaints have been started to be registered on WhatsApp. More than four thousand complaints were received on the Gujmarg app regarding potholes on the road. When the road is washed away, the government does not take action against the contractors. They only vent their anger by pouring asphalt. Six months later, the same situation occurs again.
In 2021, the government received 30 thousand complaints about the poor condition of roads and bridges.
323 km of roads were damaged in Ahmedabad, 378 km in Rajkot and 177 km in Gandhinagar due to rainwater. 609 km of roads were washed away in the cities. 16 thousand potholes were formed. Every monsoon, there is a sham of repairs.
The Valsad Collector had announced that if someone dies due to potholes, a murder case will be registered. If the Valsad Collector can issue this order, why can’t it be implemented in the whole of Gujarat? Why doesn’t the Gujarat government order all collectors to implement this order?
In a decade, more than 50 lakh people were seriously injured or disabled in road accidents due to potholes and speeding. 13 lakh 81 thousand people lost their lives. Most accidents happen between 9 pm and 2 am.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, 4,61,312 road accidents occurred in 2022, in which 4,43,366 people were injured. 1,68,491 people died.
Most road accidents
Tamil Nadu 13.9 percent
Madhya Pradesh 11.8%,
Kerala 9.5%,
Uttar Pradesh 9%,
Karnataka 8.6%,
Maharashtra 7.2%,
Rajasthan 5.1%,
Telangana 4.7%,
Andhra Pradesh 4.6%,
Gujarat 3.4%
Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the top 10 states. It accounts for 13.4 percent of deaths. It is followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana.
2022
Driving at high speed, talking on mobile phone and sometimes not wearing seat belt and helmet are the main causes of death. In 2022, 72 percent of accidents and deaths were caused by speeding.
Using mobile phone while driving caused 1.6 percent of accidents.
4.8 per cent of road accidents were caused by driving on the wrong side of the road.
The percentage of accidents caused by drunk driving was 2.5 per cent.
Pedestrians and two-wheelers
Pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheelers are most vulnerable to road accidents. While trucks affect these vehicles the most. National highways rank first where most accidents occur. It is followed by state highways. The rest of the accidents occur on market and rough roads.
25 per cent of the people who lost their lives were in the age group of 25-35 years.
21 per cent were in the age group of 18-25.
5 per cent were teenagers and children below 18 years of age.
Who is responsible
Road Minister Bhupendra Patel,
Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi,
Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister M.K. Das,
Advisor to Chief Minister and former March Secretary S. S. Rathore,
Urban Development Principal Secretary M. Thennarasan,
Chief Minister’s Additional Principal Secretary Avantika Singh,
Secretary Dr. Vikram Pandey,
Road Secretary Patelia are responsible for bad roads and corruption.
