Underscoring the state mission to make roads fatality-free and safest for commuters, Punjab Transport Minister Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday directed the concerned engineering departments to ensure rectification of all identified accident black spots on top priority.
Warring, chairing the 11th meeting of Punjab State Road Safety Council (PSRSC), asked the Finance Department to ensure timely release of requisite funds on demand to departments of PWD, Local Government, and Punjab Mandi Board engaged in the process of rectification of black spots falling on state highways.
The State Government has already completed rectification of 71 black spots falling on its highways, municipal and other link roads while the work is fast pace on the remaining 56 of these to be completed before the end of this month, Warring said, after the meeting.
PSRSC Director-General R Venkatratnam apprised the Minister that the Transport Department study had identified a total of 391 black spots across 12 districts in 2019, out of which 264 occurred on the National Highways passing through the State. Of these 264, 218 have been rectified and work is in progress on the remaining 49.
In the second phase, more than 406 spots have been identified in the remaining 11 districts for which the rectification process would begin soon after the approval of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
An accidental black spot is a road corridor of about 500 meters long on which either five road accidents, involving fatalities and grievous injuries, had been reported during the last three calendar years or 10 fatalities during the last three years.
In other decision to fasten the traffic enforcement automation drive, the Minister also accorded approval to the proposal for appointment of Transactional Advisor and a consultant by Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) for facilitation in statewide installation of road safety systems.
The procurement of road safety equipment and installation of road safety systems is my priority, Warring said, underlining that every life lost on the roads due to accidents is preventable and we are working towards that. He also asked the PWD Department to submit a revised proposal for funds allocation for pending rectification works at the earliest.
Expressing concern at fog-related road accidents, Warring also directed the ADGP Traffic SS Srivastava to ensure strict legal action against offenders overburdening their trolleys with dry fodder, wood, and iron rods posing a grave life threat to other commuters.
The Minister also asked the Police to engage Industry leaders to extract willful compliance in greater public interest. He also asked the Department to examine the feasibility of attaching of reflectors on transport vehicles at the time of the passing of the vehicle only.
The Minister also directed the Department for installation of traffic signages in both Punjabi and English across the State.
Stressing on the need for a sustained media campaign to inculcate road safety behaviour, Warring asked the PSRSC to engage with Directorate of Public Relations to curate audio, video, and social media content to attract masses, especially youngsters, towards the aim to make Punjab roads safer.
The Minister also asked the Principal Secretary Transport to finalize a calendar of events for the National Road Safety Month-2022 in advance for effective implementation and execution. He also asked the Department to engage the Directorate of Public Relations for devising an elaborate list of activities for disseminating awareness about traffic rules amongst the citizens.