The Odisha Government has decided to provide funds to the District Road Safety Committees (DRSCs) to undertake various road safety activities in view of the significant rise in road accidents across the State.

Departmental Principal Secretary Usha Padhee has written a letter in this regard to all Collectors and SPs/ DCPs.

“As reported by the CID & Crime Branch, during the year 2022 in Odisha, 5,467 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. It is observed that there is growth in fatalities by more than 50% in the districts like Deogarh, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kendrapada, Khordha, Malkangiri and Nuapada,” the official said in the letter.

“All the district authorities are being impressed upon from time to time to initiate education, engineering, enforcement and emergency care measures for reduction of road accidents and fatalities in the districts. Also, all districts have been requested to hold a meeting of the District Road Safety Committee (DRSC) once every month to review the road safety scenario,” said Padhee.

“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. These initiatives become important for the districts having major SHs, NHs, urban centres etc. It has been proposed to provide funds to the DRSCs to take initiatives for reduction of accidents and fatalities,” she added.

The Collectors and SPs/ DCPs have been requested to submit detailed proposals by June 20 indicating requirement of funds.