Click to play videoKolkata: The crossing near Nalban at Salt Lake is where one can witness a bulk of traffic. And tragedy struck on the crossing during the office rush hour on Wednesday morning.
A speeding bus hit 25-year-old Bijoy Dey and his body lay in a pool of blood, but not a single passerby came to his rescue.
A local TV reporter spotted him before police arrived, and it was already 40 minutes late.
The sequence of the accident:
- 9:55 am: Bijoy Dey was hit by a bus.
- 10:20 am- 25 minutes later, his body lay on the street, but no one came for help.
- 10:30 am: Local TV reporter saw Bijoy lying in a pool of blood.
- 10:35 am: 40 minutes later, the police arrived and removed the body.
Eyewitnesses claim that a VVIP pilot car escorted by police crossed the accident spot in those very minutes but did little to help.
And it was only after the damage was done that the police took notice.
"We are taking steps. We are taking steps under section 279 IPC, 184,” says Traffic Sergeant, Kolkata Police, Navneet Shah.
The residents seem to have lost faith in the system.
"As students we have to daily pass this crossing and we see people either getting hurt or accidents by chance,” says a resident.
“Judging by the condition of the road and the low safety levels, it is very risky for us,” says another resident.
Accident statistics of the last six months is worrisome. It gives every indication that Kolkata streets are a virtual death trap.
Death toll from April September (deaths in road accidents):
April, 2007: 46
May, 2007: 44
June, 2007: 41
July, 2007: 36
August, 2007: 37
September, 2007: 13 (so far)
Though the numbers cut a sorry figure, it is the growing public apathy which is far more telling on a city that once boasted of warmth.
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