Awareness about the traffic system is the key to prevent accidents, said the speakers at a meeting held here on Thursday jointly organised by the Baleswar-Kharagpur Express Highway limited (BKEl) and the Forum for Prevention of Road Accident (FPRA). Transport Minister Ramesh Majhi, NHAI PD Vaidya and BKEl PD BK Jha addressed the gathering, among others, and stressed on obeying of traffic rules safe driving. Majhi informed that in a year in Odisha about 4,000 deaths occur in road accidents, nearly 40 per cent of them being truck mishaps. Speakers pointed out that about 11 per cent causalities take place due to alcohol consumption. Road safety is not only a slogan but a way of life, they said.
The others associated with the NHAI and the road safety wings of these organisations, Dipanjan Behera, Subrat Nandi, Surendranath Samantray, Bikash Mhapatra, Minati Bindhani, Harmohan Dash and Baleswar RTO Amaresh Patra were present at the meeting. Earlier in the day, a rally was held, the participants mainly being school and college students, disseminating awareness massage among the public with banners, placards and slogans. At a meeting at the RTO office, district Collector Sanatan Mallick, SP Awinash Kumar, ER DIG Aseet Panigrahi, ZP president Umilata Das, cine actor Kuna Tripathy and Rajeswari Bhuyan were among those who spoke. The best three students of various age groups were given prizes.