Traffic came to a grinding halt at Sankranthipalle village of Bangarupalem mandal on the Chittoor-Bengaluru national highway on Sunday morning, after a group of villagers staged a road blockade protesting against the death of an elderly man in a road mishap in the early hours of Sunday.
According to the police, an elderly couple was returning home from a relative’s house on their two-wheeler early Sunday morning when an auto-rikshaw hit them at a sharp curve. The couple was rushed to the government hospital in Chittoor where the 70-year old man succumbed to his injuries. His wife, who also suffered grievous injuries, was said to be out of danger.
Reacting to the accident, villagers of Sankranthipalle gathered at the accident spot demanding better lighting at the accident-prone zone.
Puthalapattu MLA M.S. Babu rushed to the spot and pacified the angry villagers, assuring them that he would take up the issue with the district administration and authorities of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and initiate steps for illuminating the accident-prone zone.
The villagers informed the MLA that after dusk, it is highly risky for the people of various villages along the highway as there are neither any signboards for motorists nor proper lighting at accident-prone zones.
Bangarupalem police registered a case and took the auto-rickshaw driver into custody.
