Source: Nagaland Disaster Statistics 2024, Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Nagaland based on DGP, PHQ data.
Most accidents occur in Chümoukedima, Dimapur, and Kohima
Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 26
Nagaland recorded the lowest number of road accidents in six years in 2023–24, but the severity of these accidents surged to an alarming level, official data revealed.
According to the Nagaland Disaster Statistics 2024, while the number of road accidents decreased by over 41%, dropping to 357 in 2023–24 from 614 the previous year, the number of deaths stood at 76, just two short of the previous year’s total.
This translated to an accident severity or the number of persons killed per 100 accidents of 26.67, the highest since 2018–19, as per the second edition of the disaster incidents data published by the Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Nagaland.
The data, based on inputs from the State Police Headquarters (PHQ), Kohima, showed a sharp rise in accident severity from 6.8 in 2021–22 to 22.54 in 2022–23, and further to 26.67 in 2023–24.
Fatalities due to road accidents have shown an increasing trend—rising from 44 deaths in 2018–19 to 78 in 2022–23, before dropping slightly to 76 in 2023–24.
Between 2018–19 and 2023–24, a total of 355 fatalities were reported in 3,220 road accidents across the state, indicating an average accident severity of 11.02.
During the same period, the number of injured persons stood at 2,051, with yearly figures fluctuating between 275 in 2019–20 and 441 in 2021–22.
In 2023–24, 285 injuries were reported, a decline from 346 the previous year.
Three districts account for most accidents
Meanwhile, three districts—Chümoukedima, Dimapur, and Kohima—accounted for the vast majority of road accidents reported in Nagaland over the past two years.
In 2022-23, out of 614 road accidents, 590 incidents—over 96%—were reported from these three districts.
In 2023–24, the pattern remained largely unchanged, with 325 out of 357 accidents (or 91.03%) occurring in the same districts.
Fatalities in the two years stood at 55 and 68 respectively, while injuries totalled 279 and 250.
Economics & Statistics, Nagaland based on DGP, PHQ data.
In 2023-24, Dimapur recorded the highest number of accidents (113), followed by Kohima (109) and Chümoukedima (103).
However, Chümoukedima district recorded the highest number of road accident deaths in Nagaland, with 31 fatalities, followed by Dimapur with 24, highlighting growing concerns over road safety along the four-lane NH-29 highway that passes through these districts.
While the report does not provide detailed, location-specific data, the annual report on road accidents published by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) offers some insights.
As the ‘most recent’ MoRTH report, ‘Road Accidents in India 2022,’ Nagaland reported a total of 489 road accidents in 2022. Of these, 304 cases (over 62%) occurred on national highways, while 135 were reported on state highways, and 50 on other roads. These accidents resulted in 73 deaths and 291 injuries.
However, there is one notable discrepancy in the data: the Nagaland Disaster Report 2024 lists 894 road accidents for the year 2021–22, an exact anagram of the 489 cases reported by MoRTH. It remains unclear whether this discrepancy is due to a typographical error by one of the agencies. Fluctuations in other figures were less noticeable.
Causes of Accidents
Although the report does not provide district-wise breakdowns of accident causes, most incidents were generally linked to self-driving, vehicle-to-vehicle collisions, hit-and-run cases, and other routine road mishaps.
Key contributing factors identified include over-speeding, rash or negligent driving, drunk driving, and wrong-side driving.
Here too, MoRTH’s 2022 data provides further clarity. Out of 489 accidents reported in Nagaland, 260 incidents, or over 53% were attributed to over-speeding (140), alcohol related (80), and wrong-side driving (40). The remaining 229 cases were categorised under ‘Other’ causes.
Others accident-related disasters
Overall, out of 531 accident-related disasters, road accidents alone accounted for approximately 67.22% or 357 incidents in 2023-24 as per the report.
Other accidents during this period included electrocution incidents: 44 reported from 2020–21 to 2023-24, resulting in 41 injuries and 13 deaths. In 2023-24 alone, 10 cases led to 11 injuries and 3 deaths.
There were 11 wildfires incidents in 2023-24 damaged 30.91 hectares of plantations, affecting 23,587 crops/plants.
There were also 21 drowning incidents with 15 fatalities in 2023-24.
A total of 113 fire disasters incidents reported in 2023–24, resulting in 8 fatalities, causing significant damage to life, property, and the environment.
In 2023–24, the number of such incidents dropped to three, affecting 6.1 acres and resulting in the loss of 4,880 produce crops.
