LUCKNOW, Feb. 14 -- The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday said a zero fatality programme is being run across districts to reduce road accident deaths while citing multiple reasons that lead to such incidents.Replying to a question in the assembly, finance and parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna said, "The reasons for accidents include mobile phone use, overspeeding, drinking-and-driving, illegal parking and overloading."Informing the House about the action taken by the government between April 1, 2025 and January 30, 2026, Khanna said, "A total 5,98,891 challans (issued) for not wearing helmet, 1,27,761 challans for not using seat belt, over 2 lakh for overspeeding, 51,365 for use of mobile phone, 4,173 for drinking-and-driving and 32,211 for illegal parking." The Opposition had put up questions in the House on road accident deaths. Raising the issue, Congress legislature party leader Aradhana Mishra said over 45,000 road accidents occur in the state every year, in which over 24,000 people lose their lives."In all, the data shows 56% deaths are due to speeding while 12% of deaths due to driving in the wrong direction and 8% are due to driving under the influence," Mishra said.On an average, there are 65 deaths per day, about three people die every hour, destroying an entire family every 20 minutes. More than 50% of those who lose their lives in these accidents are young people-the future of the country. A person who dies on the road isn't just a victim of an accident; an entire family is torn apart with them, she said. Over 42% of all deaths occur in 20 accident-prone districts, she said. Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) MLA Pallavi Patel raised the issue of transport department vacancies.Citing provisions and how people violate them, transport minister Daya Shankar Singh said "Our government installed cameras to curb speeding. People slow down in front of the cameras. To address this, we implemented a check-in and check-out system. People stop for tea before their exit point. They then balance their time but don't slow down. A 'no helmet, no fuel' policy was implemented, but they found a way around it. People started renting helmets outside petrol pumps."The minister said the government will appoint 351 motor vehicle inspectors for stricter enforcement.Samajwadi Party member Anil Pradhan raised a question about the issuing of driving licences in an improper manner without even the candidate fulfilling the criteria.He also asked whether the government would give licences to people aged between 15 and 17 years.The transport minister stated that the minimum age for obtaining a licence is 18 years.htc...