Bhubaneswar, Nov 18: In a bid to improve road safety in the state, Lead Agency on Road Safety, Transport Department, Govt. of Odisha signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Save LIFE Foundation (SLF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working towards road safety in India on Thursday.

The agreement was signed by Sanjay Biswal, Joint Commissioner, Road Safety, State Transport Authority, Odisha and Piyush Tewari, founder & CEO, Save LIFE Foundation, New Delhi.

The SLF will identify, recommend and assist with the treatment of up to 100 vulnerable spots in Odisha where maximum accidental death have taken place in last few years. The MOU aims to reduce the road deaths on Odisha roads significantly in next three years.

Speaking at the event, Arun Bothra, Transport Commissioner, Odisha said, “Road Safety is a very high priority area for us. We are working on various fronts to make our roads safer. The MOU with Save Life Foundation is a major step. The Foundation has improved situation in various states. I am sure our combined efforts will bring good results in Odisha as well.”

He further added, “Once the remedial measures are suggested and implemented, we hope that fatalities will be reduced by around 30-50 per cent.” Shri Tewari said SaveLIFE Foundation is proud to collaborate with the State of Odisha to improve road safety and trauma care. “We deeply admire the commitment of Odisha Transport Department to save lives and are confident that our ‘Zero-Fatality Corridor’ model will help meet that commitment.”

The ‘Zero-Fatality Corridor’ model attempts at reducing the number of road accident deaths through a 360 degree intervention across engineering, emergency care, enforcement, and education. SLF will also provide assistance with formation of a Technical Support Unit (TSU) for road safety in the office of the Transport Commissioner. The team will closely work with Lead Agency on Road Safety to reduce road crash fatalities in the State. They shall analyse the policy framework on road safety in the State and will recommend changes or modifications in the policy framework on road safety to ensure effective implementation.