Odisha: road accident death comes down

Cuttack, Oct 7: Odisha has registered negative growth in road accidental death in the month of July this year as compared to July 2021. The fatalities have come down by 4.01 percent. In July 2021, 399 people died in road accidents. However, in July 2022, the number has come down to 383. It is pertinent to note that in the first quarter of the year, the State has recorded negative growth of 10.37 in accidents and 7.55 negative growth in fatalities. The State recorded 2895 road accidents resulting in 1359 deaths during the same period whereas 3230 accidents and 1470 deaths were registered during the first quarter of the previous year. However, the second quarter of 2022 saw a substantial increase in accidents and fatalities in comparison to 2021 for the same period. “During the COVID-19 period, restrictions were imposed on the movement of vehicles which resulted in less number of accidents. The high growth in accidents and fatalities during the 2nd quarter of 2022 is due to regular movement of vehicles,” said Lalmohan Sethi, Additional CommissionerTransport, Road Safety & Enforcement. Sethi further added, “The negative growth in fatalities has been achieved due to strict enforcement of road safety norms across the State. During 2021-22, a total of 2, 47,945 e-challans were issued whereas in 2022-23, a total of 2, 86,682 challans have already been issued between April-September. The frequency of enforcement drive has been increased and a consistent effort in this regard will help us in reducing road accidents in the state.” Odisha has adopted a four-fold strategy to make the roads safe through 4Es- enforcement, education, improvement in road engineering, and emergency care. The state has scored 66 percent and was categorized as a ‘high performer’ in implementing road safety measures during an audit conducted by the Supreme Court Committee on road safety. The Supreme Court Committee has also rated some of Odisha’s initiatives as best practices and suggested recommendations to neighbouring states. Till date around 11000 first responders staying near accident-prone areas have been trained across Odisha under OperationRakshak. In yet another bid to improve the road safety scenario in the State, Odisha has initiated a refresher training program ‘Vahak’ for heavy vehicle drivers of the State to hone the skills of drivers and in turn help in reducing accidents in the state. So far around 1500 heavy motor vehicle (HMV) drivers have been trained at HMV Driving School, Chhatia. The department is planning to scale up the training program with an aim to train around 1 lakh HMV drivers in the state. Recently Odisha organized National Road Safety Short Film Festival, 2022 a first-of-its-kind event in the country. There was an overwhelming response to the festival. A total of 230 entries were received in 6 languages from 8 states. The top films are being screened in movie theatres across the state to create awareness about road safety. With an aim to make roads in Odisha, 100% road signage compliant, the state has started a unique initiative of road signage audit. Audit of 3059 KMs of NH and SH in the state is already completed and the report has been submitted to the stakeholders for necessary rectification. Further, an additional 5000 km road audit has been proposed. The Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) project is implemented in Sundargarh District covering the municipal areas of Sundargarh, Rajgangpur, and Birmitrapur. Soon the command-and-control center for CCTV/ANPR will be functional and the footage will be monitored continuously for issuing E challans to the traffic violators. It will also prevent road accidents. As per Supreme Court Committee guidelines, the state government is working towards the construction of Truck Terminals and comprehensive Trauma System Care. Road Safety training is being provided to Engineers, commercial drivers, traffic police personnel, highway engineers, and planners in a systematic process through a well-planned training calendar.