City’s shifting black spots: Tatibandh emerges as deadliest, notoriously fatal stretch shows improvement

Raipur: Recent traffic data reveals a stark shift in Raipur’s accident-prone zones, with Tatibandh Chowk and the New Bypass Road emerging as the city’s deadliest blackspots this year. Strikingly, all five of these critical danger zones are concentrated along a single stretch of National Highway 53.On the other hand, the historically fatal Agrasen Dham Chowk to Jora Overbridge stretch has shown the most significant improvement, recording a sharp decline in casualties.According to official data from the Raipur Traffic Police, danger has heavily concentrated around the Tatibandh area. The New Bypass Road, which recorded five fatalities between 2023 and 2025, has already reported three deaths in just the first five months of 2026.

Similarly, Tatibandh Chowk has witnessed three fatalities till May this year, adding to its previous three-year toll of nine deaths.Conversely, the Agrasen Dham corridor, previously the city’s most lethal stretch with 13 deaths between 2023 and 2025, has registered only one fatality in a single accident so far in 2026. Meanwhile, the route from Bhathagaon Bridge to Kushalpur Bridge remains a steady concern, reporting two deaths this year following seven fatalities over the previous three years.

By official parameters, a traffic ‘black spot’ is defined as any 500-meter stretch that records either five fatal accidents over three years or a single incident resulting in 10 deaths.Traffic officials attribute the high fatality rate at these specific junctions primarily to road engineering defects rather than human error. To mitigate these hazards, the traffic department is continuously corresponding with the Public Works Department (PWD), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the Municipal Corporation. Officials maintain that until these civic agencies rectify the structural and geometric flaws on the ground, these stretches will remain critical risks for commuters.