Bhubaneswar: At least 25,934 persons have died and 51,873 injured in the last five years due to road accidents, which went up by 401 during this period in Odisha.

This was informed today by Commerce and Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu while replying to a question raised by BJP MLA Kusum Tete during the Assembly winter session today.

In response to the Opposition MLA's query regarding data on road mishaps, compensation to affected families and expenditure by the State government on safety awareness, Sahu said at least 5,467 persons died and 10,302 were hurt in 11,663 accidents in 2022.

In the last five years between 2018-2022, the road accidents went up from 11,262 to 11,663 while number of deaths stood at 5,467 from 5,315. The number of persons injured however came down from 11,794 to 10,302.

As per the data furnished during the session, the Odisha government's budget on raising road safety awareness went up from Rs 643 lakh during 2018-19 to Rs 2394 lakh in 2022-23. In the last five years the total expenditure borne by the government in this regard stood at Rs 79.21 crore.

Regarding compensation to families of persons killed by unknown vehicles, the Minister said the amount has gone up from Rs 51 lakh in 2019 to Rs 593.50 lakh in 2023. The figure stood at Rs 110.50 lakh in 2020, Rs 274.50 in 2021, Rs 539.00 in 2022 and Rs 593.50 in 2023.