Bhubaneswar, Jan 12 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday expressed deep concern over the rising number of road accidents in the state and across the country, launching a series of landmark road safety initiatives at a special event held here during National Road Safety Month to reduce road mishaps.
Addressing a programme at the Convention Hall of Lok Seva Bhawan, Majhi stated that the state government is focusing on the implementation of four ‘E’s for road safety, which include Education, Enforcement (strict implementation of rules), Engineering (strengthening safety through improved road infrastructure and advanced vehicle engineering), and Emergency (providing prompt medical assistance during emergencies).
In addition to these four ‘E’s, the Chief Minister also personally suggested the following two more ‘E’s—Environment and Evaluation.
“Strict adherence to vehicle pollution norms and proper evaluation of the outcomes of road safety measures. Based on such evaluations, road safety programmes can be modified or further improved,” emphasised Majhi.
Highlighting the importance of road safety, the Chief Minister announced, “Road safety has now been included as a component of Good Governance.” He expressed hope that this would make government officials more vigilant in this area.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also announced the “Chief Minister’s Road Safety Scheme Award.” Under this scheme, districts, educational institutions, and private organisations will be honoured based on their initiatives in the field of road safety.
He further announced that the districts performing well will be rewarded, while those with poor performance will be held accountable. Similarly, schools and other institutions will also be awarded for exemplary initiatives taken towards road safety.
The Chief Minister expressed hope that these steps would increase road safety awareness across all regions and sections of society and play a significant role in reducing road accidents. On this occasion, a unique and innovative initiative was taken for road safety on ghat roads in the state. At Kalinga Ghat, the Chief Minister inaugurated a warning bell system on a pilot basis to alert drivers.
Under this system, a siren will sound when vehicles approach from both sides of the ghat road, alerting drivers. Similarly, on this occasion, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with IIT Kharagpur for advanced traffic management in the Cuttack–Bhubaneswar Twin City. Based on the IIT’s report, steps will be taken to improve traffic management in both cities. On Monday, the Chief Minister inaugurated 15 charging stations for Bhubaneswar.
It was informed that another 85 charging stations are under construction across the state and will be inaugurated soon. Majhi on Monday inaugurated 14 new Atal Bus Stands. These bus stands have been constructed in 10 districts at a cost of Rs 156.53 crore. Apart from this, CM Majhi also unveiled a total of 71 projects under the state Works Department with an estimated expenditure of Rs 6,700 crore. Among these, the foundation stones for 39 projects worth approximately Rs 5,630 crore were laid, while 32 projects with an investment of around Rs 1,070 crore were inaugurated.
–IANS
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