With the deaths caused by road accidents increasing alarmingly, Odisha Commerce and Transport Department has asked district Collectors and SPs to take measures to curb the road accidents and deaths thereof.
“As reported by the CID & Crime Branch, Odisha during the year 2022, 5467 persons were killed in road accidents at a growth of 7.6% compared to 2021. The situation has further worsened during the months of January and February, 2023. There is growth in fatalities by 24.91% compared to the months of January and February of the year 2022,” Commerce and Transport Department Principal Secretary Usha Padhee stated in a letter.
“It is observed that there is growth in fatalities by more than 50% in the districts like Deogarh, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kendrapara, Khordha, Malkanagiri and Nuapada,” the letter added.
The Transport Department has requested the district administration to hold the meeting of the District Road Safety Committees (DRSC) once every month to review the road safety scenario. In view of the importance of the issue, it has been decided to provide funds to the DRSCs for taking up various road safety activities.
“Small interventions like painting of medians, pasting of reflective tapes, conducting awareness programmes, installing CC Cameras for deterrence etc. may have significant effect in improving road safety in the Districts. These initiatives become important for the Districts having major SHs, NHs, Urban Centres etc,” said the department.
In the letter, the Collectors and SPs have been asked to submit their detailed proposals indicating the requirement of funds by 20th June, 2023 after approval in the DRSC for placement of Funds. Each item in proposal should be in the order of priority to consider the release of funds as per the availability.