Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Sunday urged the people of the State to strictly follow the traffic rules to prevent mishaps.
The Chief Minister said that with a view to create awareness regarding road safety measures among the people, the Haryana Government had decided to observe the 28th Road Safety Week in the State from January 9 to 15.
He said that the launch of the Road Safety Week would be marked by ‘Joy of Giving’ campaign, under which flowers and goodies would be distributed by Traffic Police officials to commuters following traffic rules across major junctions.
Various other activities would be undertaken throughout the week to create awareness among the people, including display of banners related to road safety and ‘do’s and don’ts’, distribution of pamphlets, public announcements through Traffic Police vehicles to educate road users at important locations and traffic junctions, relay of road safety messages by senior officials on radio and television channels, and meetings with various public departments to discuss road safety-related issues, said he.
Besides, entries would be invited from the people for slogan writing competition on road safety, and exhibition and screening of road safety-related clips at various locations would also be organised. Awareness programmes would be conducted in schools and colleges to educate children on road safety, along with a visit of school children to traffic parks.
Medical check-up and eyesight testing camps would be organised wherein spectacles would be distributed to drivers free of cost. Cleaning of traffic lights and traffic posts at key junctions would also be undertaken, besides organisation of ‘light a Cycle’ campaign to affix reflective tapes on slow-moving vehicles including cycles, cycle-rickshaw and tractor, said the Chief Minister.
Apart from this, refresher course on road safety would be organised for drivers of State Transport Undertaking and those in the unorganised sector, such as auto union and taxi drivers.
A special challan drive would also be undertaken during the week for major offenses such as speeding, unauthorised parking and driving under influence.
The road accidents account for a large number of deaths and injuries every year in Haryana. Haryana had witnessed 15679 accidental deaths in the year 2014.
As many as 5,250 persons had died while 11,564 were injured in road accidents between January 1, 2015 and January 31, 2016. And, 8,912 vehicles which had caused accidents were traced and 8,849 drivers were arrested.
Notably, the State Government had last year announced road safety policy to be jointly implemented by the concerned Departments like Police, Public Works (Building and Roads), Education and Health for better road safety management.
A State Road Safety Council and District Road Safety Committees was constituted for road safety. Apart from this, an operation committee headed by Chief Secretary was also constituted in the State.
The State Government has also announced to conduct a study in collaboration with National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), to analyse different aspects of road safety so as to ensure zero road fatalities and promote road safety initiatives in Haryana.