PANJIM: Families in Goa are burying and cremating bodies of their loved ones who were either young, hale and hearty or ageing gracefully in the company of those who cared for them.

Young and resourceful lives continue to be snuffed out by killer fatal road accidents in Goa. More than half of the accidental deaths are of young and mid-aged persons and the maximum dying on Goan roads are Goans themselves.

The pattern of accidents that have come to light during November and December to date is disturbing.

Out of the 22 persons who died in accidents across Goa 12 were below the age of 30. 16 persons who died were Goans.

It has also been observed that the 12 fatal days of November have taken one life every 26 hours while the number has become more worrisome as a life was lost every 24 hours in the elapsed days of December. The statistics that are coming out are horrific enough to prove Health Minister Vishwajit Rane’s statement that “Goa is the accident capital of India” right.

2368 accidents have already been reported till November and the number just keeps increasing with every passing day. The accident at Siridao that took the life of Sanjana Sawant was also a part of the 98 percent of accidents on Goan roads that happen due to rash and negligent driving or riding. Most of the time the deaths in these accidents are of two-wheeler riders.

Dilip Naik, Founder of Goa Road Safety Forum, said, “Let us be the discipline capital of India. Rash driving, use of a phone while driving, and incorrect parking, are all rampant in Goa because violators know nobody is watching. The result is that innocent lives are lost day after day,” he said.

He added that the traffic sentinel scheme should be restarted in Goa, but without any reward. “The reward will be safer roads in the tourism State. The new Superintendent of Police (Traffic) has started acting on various factors of road safety in Goa,” he said.