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Bhubaneswar: In last six months as many as 10,950 drunk driving cases have been registered in Odisha. There has been a 10 per cent rise in the number of road accident cases in the State this year and the major causes are alcohol consumption and use of mobile phones while driving, informed Transport Secretary after a meeting of the Road Safety Council.
According to data furnished at the meeting, 10,855 road mishaps were registered in 2017, while the number rose to 11,262 in 2018.
"Steps will be taken to curb road accidents in the State. More number of staff will be deployed to minimize road mishaps," said Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera.
"There has been a 10 per cent rise in accidents in the State. Engineering, Heath, Police and Transport departments have been monitoring the incidents," informed G Srinivas, Transport department secretary.
Apart from drunk driving, use of mobile phones while driving is also a major cause of road accidents in the State. Moreover, reckless driving, lack of helmets and faulty road planning are also some of the other issues which also need to be addressed.
Meanwhile, the Bus owners' association has demanded change in regulation and strict enforcement to curb road accidents in the State.
"Persons who are carelessly driving and riding bikes in a drunken state should be arrested and forwarded to court. The NGOs should be asked to create awareness," said Debendra Sahoo, secretary of state bus owners' association.
