The stretch of highway where an explosion from an LPG tanker leak killed 13 people on Friday was identified as a high-risk “blackspot” by Indian highway authorities, but safety improvements remained largely incomplete despite mounting casualties at the site, government records show.
National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) data reveals that the Bhankrota section of NH-48, where Friday’s deadly crash occurred, was among seven dangerous zones identified on the Jaipur-Kishangarh route earlier this year. However, only 55% of planned safety improvements had been completed at the site by November, the lowest progress rate among all identified hazard zones in the region.
The death toll from Friday’s explosion rose to 13 on Saturday, with seven people still unaccounted for and several more battling for their lives in critical condition. The disaster began when a truck collided with an LPG tanker attempting a U-turn near Delhi Public School at 5.25am, creating a fireball that engulfed 34 vehicles.
Police records paint a stark picture of the location’s dangers: 84 accidents occurred in the Bhankrota highway section this year alone, claiming 38 lives and injuring 54 others. December had already seen seven crashes before Friday’s catastrophe.
“The registered cases are only the fatal ones. But, three to four accidents take place in this area daily,” said Bhankrota station house officer Manish Gupta, whose office is within a kilometre of the crash site. “The poor condition of the roads, and the unplanned flyover projects are biggest challenge to manage the traffic here,”
A recently completed flyover near the crash site remains unopened. “Had this flyover been open, yesterday’s accident might have been averted,” Gupta said.
The NHAI had identified 40 blackspots across Rajasthan’s national highways, including 12 on NH-48 alone. While work was completed at four locations by August, improvements at sites near Parasoli and Hirapura power house remain at 80% completion despite passed deadlines.
Local residents say they had long warned of the dangers. “Two years ago, a similar incident happened in the evening when a tanker was hit by a truck but fortunately no explosion or casualty happened,” said Kailash Chand, whose highway-facing shop was damaged in Friday’s fire. “This U-Turn should be closed for any heavy vehicles as the space is extremely narrow and congested.”
Another resident, Drishat Khan, recalled a previous incident: “An LPG tanker had turned over on that same U-Turn in October, but yet the government did not care about the common lives.”
NHAI project director Ajay Arya defended the agency’s response, citing complications in the densely populated area.
“The area is a complete residential area posing challenges for us to acquire the lands and plan accordingly,” Arya said. The 90.385-kilometre stretch, currently being expanded to six lanes, carries about 100,000 PCU (passenger car units) daily, mostly heavy vehicles.
The U-turn where Friday’s crash occurred was constructed 30 metres wide with traffic lighting, marking, and sign boards, Arya said. The NHAI is currently widening the cut with rigid pavement on both sides to increase turning radius, expanding the section from six to ten lanes. “Before construction of this cut, a committee comprises official of JDA, NHAI and traffic police visited the site and approved the plan,” he said. “At this cut, a traffic light is regulated by traffic police and enforcement is also deployed in day time,”
The agency had planned 10 flyovers in the area to manage traffic, Arya added. Eight have been completed, one awaits opening, and construction of the final flyover will begin shortly. The safety improvements at Bhankrota have a deadline of January 31, 2025.
The next blackspot from Bhankrota, at Hirapura power house, reported 23 accidents with 10 fatalities, but safety improvements remain incomplete despite an October deadline. “Preventing the accident requires a coordination among the police, NHAI, JDA, and also the people. But, we all have failed drastically over the years,” said Shyam Nagar SHO Dalbeer Singh.
In response to the tragedy, chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma announced a ₹2,350 crore budget to address dangerous road sections across Rajasthan.
“The PwD officials were also directed to maintain the quality of the road construction works in future and finish all the construction works within a suitable deadline. Stringent actions should also be taken against the ones who violate the quality parameters of the roads”, the chief minister said during an emergency meeting.
The public works department is currently working on 176 blackspots with a March 2025 deadline, while the Jaipur Development Authority has identified 30 additional hazardous locations within the city, to be addressed at a cost of ₹21.72 crores.