Rajiv Rahadhari turns accident-prone as 504 killed in one year
Rajiv Rahadhari, connecting Ramagundam and Hyderabad via Karimnagar, has emerged as an accident-prone stretch, with 1,816 mishaps claiming 504 lives and injuring 921 people in a year. Flawed design, black spots and alleged enforcement lapses remain concerns.
Karimnagar: The state highway number one, also known as Rajiv Rahadhari connecting Ramagundam and Hyderabad via Karimnagar has increasingly become a dangerous stretch, with witnessing many accidents and fatalities at regular intervals.
As per information provided by the police, the 206 kms long four-lane expressway, in particular, erstwhile Karimnagar district region saw 1,816 mishaps from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 claiming 504 lives and injuring 921 persons. The alarming number of road accidents has become a cause for the motorists, who use the road to reach Hyderabad for medical emergencies, businesses, agriculture, education and other needs every day.
In the latest instance, two youngsters were killed on the spot, while two others sustained injuries when a car rammed into a stationary lorry parked on the Rajiv Rahadhari at Bommakal, on the outskirts of Karimnagar city in April. A farmer received serious injuries after a speeding truck mowed him down at Mugdumpur, causing spot death for him in July.
The increasing accidents have been attributed to flawed road design. The road has a hazardous S curve at Katnapalli village in Sultanabad mandal, a deadly curve at SCCL GM Office in Godavarikhani where accidents have become common. Absence of signboards at accident prone spots and narrow stretches aggravate the risk.
Similarly, 41 black spots have been identified by the officials across the stretch, reflecting the possibility of mishaps. Major share of the dangerous spots are situated in Peddapalli district alone. Degree College, Collectorate, Kunram cross road, a road over bridge leading to Manthani are registering accidents regularly.
Experts further alleged that negligence of the officials in enforcement of road safety norms was resulting in the mishaps. They cite that no vigilance has been kept on over speeding of vehicles. “The maximum permitted speed is 80 kms per hour. However, vehicles zoom at 120 km per hour due to lack of vigil by the officials,” an expert said.
Meanwhile, recommendations made by an Assembly House Committee in 2013-which flagged design flaws and irregularities in the project, remain unimplemented. Bhanu Prasad, the chairman of the committee, constituted on the alleged irregularities in the Rajiv Rahadari works, had remarked that works of the infrastructure were not executed as per norms of NHAI, but corrective measures were never taken.
