Bhubaneswar: In spite of an increasing number of road accidents and accident-related deaths in the state, 29 out of 30 districts have failed to furnish their reports on the preventive measures they have taken at accident prone zones or ‘black spots’ to curb such mishaps.
According to Commerce and Transport Department, except the Ganjam district administration no other district has so far furnished report to the department on the remedial measures they had been asked to take at identified accident prone spots.
“Odisha is regularly monitoring the situation. During a video conference the collectors were requested to submit a report on remedial measures undertaken in identified black spots to curb road accidents. However, only the Collector of Ganjam has submitted such reports,” Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Transport Department Ashok Kumar Sarangi has pointed out in a letter.
The official further said that the rate of road accidents and fatalities in Odisha was the highest in the country for which the Supreme Court committee on road safety has also expressed deep concern.
Following the bus accident in Deogarh district that had left 27 members of an opera troupe dead in April 2016, the state government had asked all concerned officials, especially the field level transport officials and local police and administration, to identify black spots or hazardous spots in their respective areas for taking immediate measures to reduce accidents,
In May 2016, the Chief Secretary had informed that 23 black spots had been identified on National Highways, while Chief Engineer Roads identified 13 black spots on state roads. State Police have identified around 200 black spots in 26 districts based on incidences of accidents and casualties in the last three years.
Accordingly, the collectors were asked to take measures for rectification of the defects.
Road safety in the state presents a grim picture if one goes by the statistics on road accidents and related deaths. Transport Department data reveals that 21,549 persons have been killed in 51,257 road accidents between 2013 and 2017 with the highest number of deaths recorded in 2017,
Statistics reveal 4,062 persons were killed in 9,680 road accidents in 2013 and 3,931 individuals were killed in 9, 648 accidents in 2014. And from 2015 onwards, the figure has risen constantly.
As many as 4,303 deaths in 10,542 accidents were reported in 2015, while 4,463 deaths in 10,532 accidents were reported in 2016. The highest number of 4,790 road accident deaths was reported in 2017 with highest number of 10,855 road mishaps.
The Transport deputy secretary, meanwhile, has asked the remaining 29 district collectors to immediately furnish their reports in this regard.
PNN
