State road safety scenario meeting held in the ministry

Raipur. The State Road Safety Scenario meeting was held at Mantralaya Mahanadi Bhawan here today under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain. In the meeting, the Chief Secretary discussed measures to control road accidents including accident-prone road sections, engineering improvements, arrangements for quick treatment of injured in road accidents and immediate assistance, traffic education, road safety awareness, enforcement action, road safety audit etc. Gave necessary directions to the officials. In the meeting, Secretary Transport Shri S. Prakash, while welcoming all the officers including the Chief Secretary, threw light on the road safety scenario of the state. It was informed in the meeting that Road Safety Month will be celebrated in the state from 15 January to 15 February. During this period, various programs will be organized in schools and other institutions to create public awareness regarding road safety.

Chairman of Inter-Departmental Lead Agency Road Safety, Sanjay Sharma, while reporting the analysis of road safety related works of various departments, informed that in the year 2023, there has been an increase of 1.33 percent in road accidents as compared to the previous year. About 49 percent of the road accidents in the state have occurred in districts Raipur, Bilaspur, Raigarh, Korba, Durg, Mahasamund, Balodabazar. Road safety measures have been discussed in 66 meetings of District Road Safety Committees. A total of 11 thousand 895 public awareness programs were held in the state. The police department conducted challan proceedings in a total of 5,41,407 cases and collected summon fees worth Rs 22 crore 64 lakh 48 thousand. 57 black spots, 2,117 junctions were rectified. Gave information about the signs installed at important places including 31 truck lay-bys, 341 bus lay-bys and 07 driver rest areas.

Joint Secretary of the Health Department said that in addition to the earlier 07 Trauma Centers, 02 Trauma Stabilization Centers of Raipur and Simga have been started. The remaining 06 are nearing completion. Secretary Education informed that the work of revising the course materials of road safety and traffic education in the curriculum prepared from class 1st to 10th has been done by the State Educational and Research Council. Secretary Transport informed that a total of 17,282 drivers and more than 700 enforcement officers and more than 200 school bus drivers have been trained at the Institute of Driving and Traffic Research in the month of December. Apart from driving, it will be mandatory for violators of traffic rules to undergo training. Chhattisgarh’s first automated driving testing track has been prepared, in which the driver will have to take a test using camera and sensor system and the license will be issued only after measuring the efficiency of driving and following the prescribed parameters and time period. Last year, a mitigation fee of Rs 161 crore 28 lakh 93 thousand 906 was collected by the Transport Department in 8,47,006 cases. 21,886 sign boards and 3810 encroachments were removed by the Urban Administration and Development Department.

Chief Secretary Shri Jain said that a strategy should be made for black spot improvement. All Divisional Commissioners and Inspector General of Police should regularly monitor road safety activities in the districts under their jurisdiction. Updated information related to road safety should be uploaded in the portal of the lead agency by all concerned departments. Compliance with road safety measures should be ensured by holding regular meetings of the District Road Safety Committee. A short film should be made and shown to school children on what is the process of making a driving license for driving two-wheeler and four-wheeler. G.P.S. By making a short film related to tracking and the process of fitness in an automatic fitness center, A.N.P.R. The process of e-challan being sent to vehicles with violation of rules or incomplete documents captured on camera should also be publicized by making a short film. In the meeting, Secretary of Public Works Department Dr. Kamalpreet Singh, Secretary School Education Siddharth Komal Pardeshi, Secretary Transport S. Prakash, various representatives including Police, Health, Public Works, Education, Urban Administration and Development, Panchayat and Rural Development, Animal Husbandry, National Highways Senior officers including secretaries of departments and all divisional commissioners and inspector general of range police participated.