Purnia tops traffic management ranking as govt aims to reduce accidents in state

Patna: Bihar records more than 11,000 road accidents on average every year, resulting in around 9,000 to 9,500 deaths annually. In an effort to reduce these numbers by at least 10% every year, Bihar Police has for the first time introduced a district ranking system covering all 40 police districts.

A police official said on Thursday that the new initiative is based on 10 parameters. The ranking was launched recently to ensure better traffic management and smoother traffic flow, with the larger goal of reducing road accidents by half by 2030.

“The districts that perform well under these different parameters are awarded marks based on their performance,” the official said.

Following the evaluation, the top five best-performing districts for 2025 were identified as Purnia, Saran, Lakhisarai, Katihar and Sheikhpura. At the other end, the bottom five districts were Saharsa, Madhubani, Jehanabad, Nalanda and Naugachhia.

Another police officer said these districts have been directed to improve their performance across all prescribed parameters.

The assessment also revealed significant gaps. No district showed notable initiative in removing traffic choke points, resulting in all districts receiving zero out of five marks under that category.

The situation was also found to be weak in communication and public awareness regarding traffic rules. Most districts received either zero or only fractional marks on this parameter. Only two to three districts managed scores of around one to one-and-a-half marks.

Katihar recorded the highest score at 2.4 marks, followed by Muzaffarpur with 1.6 marks, Samastipur with 1.2 marks, and Gaya with one mark. All other districts scored either below one mark or zero.

Additional director general of police (traffic) Sudhanshu Kumar said, “Districts that have performed well are being encouraged while those that are lagging behind are continuously motivated to improve their performance. To foster healthy competition among districts, special focus must be placed on improving road safety, traffic management, and traffic control. Such initiatives can prove highly effective in improving the state’s overall traffic system.”

He added, “A comprehensive initiative is also being undertaken to improve traffic management, particularly in major cities including Patna.”