. Chanda

By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
ELEVEN people died during the New Year period compared to 17 who died in 2013.
The 11 are part of those involved in 80 accidents reported to the Zambia Police countrywide.
Police spokesperson Charity Chanda said the year 2014 recorded a decrease in the number of accidents and fatalities compared to 2013 when there were 158 cases reported.
The 80 cases were recorded from 06:00 hours on December 31, 2014 to January 2, 2015.
Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of accidents at 35 followed by Copperbelt which had 21.
Southern Province recorded six accidents, Central, Eastern and Western provinces had four each while North-Western had three, Luapula two, Northern one and Muchinga recorded no accident.
Ms Chanda said while 2014 recorded 16 serious accidents and five people with slight injuries, the previous year had 27 serious and 25 with slight injuries.
The decrease in the number of accidents was attributed to intensive patrols and adherence to road traffic rules by members of the public.
Meanwhile, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) recorded 22 cases of assault between December 31, 2014 and January 1, 2015.
This is compared to only 13 such cases that were reported during the Christmas Eve celebrations in 2014.
UTH public relations officer Mwenya Mulenga said the victims were referred to the highest health institution from various parts of the city.
“We recorded 22 assault cases from Wednesday 18:00 hours (December 31, 2014) to Thursday 06:00 hours (January1, 2015),” Mr Mulenga said.
The up-shoot in assault cases could be attributed to the excitement that comes with New Year celebrations.