Lucknow, July 20 -- Road accident deaths declined marginally across Uttar Pradesh's 75 districts during the first six months of 2026, but the trend remained a cause for concern in Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), which continued to record among the highest numbers of crashes and fatalities. According to district-wise data compiled by the transport department, 14,149 people were killed in road accidents across the state between January and June 2026, a marginal decline of 0.2% compared with the corresponding period last year. However, the number of road accidents rose by 0.5%, increasing from 25,846 in the first half of 2025 to 25,971 during the same period this year. The three districts with a police commissionerate system continued to report a rising trend in fatalities. Lucknow recorded 377 deaths against 344 last year, an increase being 12.9% while Ghaziabad reported 231 against 189 or 22.2% increase, the fourth highest in the state. Noida also figured among the districts where deaths increased 3%. All three districts are also among the districts reporting a high number of road accidents. The overall decline in fatalities marks a sharp turnaround from last year when the state recorded nearly 20% rise in road accident deaths during January-June period. The unprecedented increase in 2025 was attributed to the massive movement of devotees in the region during the Kumbh, which drew millions of people over two months. According to PS Satyarthi, former additional commission (road safety) a marginal decline in number of deaths this year during the first six months may be due to the sharp rise last year due to the Kumbh when millions of devotees travelled to Prayagraj, Ayodhya and Varanasi from January to February. "Let us watch out for the trend during the next six months," he said. The data also showed a worrying rise in the number of injured. As many as 20,862 people were injured in road accidents this year against 19,585 last year-a rise of 6.5%. In absolute terms, Lucknow recorded the highest number of road accidents at 969 followed by Gorakhpur ( 667), Kanpur Nagar (685), Agra (627) and Ghaziabad (582). "The rise of accidents and deaths in districts like Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Noida is a matter of concern and a detailed analysis of causes needs to be done," Satyarthi said....