Even as the Road Safety Week began on Monday, some startling facts about how road safety is given so-called priority by the State Government have come to light as road mishaps in the State increased by 15 per cent in 2015-2016.
A committee set up by the Supreme Court under former judge of apex court Justice Radhakrishnan to suggest ways to reduce road accidents in the country had asked the State Governments to reduce accidents by 50 per cent. But ironically, the accidents have grown by 15 per cent in Odisha.
The committee had asked the State Government to set up a Road Safety Directorate to monitor road safety and improve coordination between different departments like Transport, Public Works and other line departments and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to reduce accidents. But the State Government is yet to set up a Road Safety Directorate, pointed out Odisha Transporters’ Association president Subrat Kumar Nanda.
The Radhakrishan Committee had also asked to set up a Road Safety Fund out of the fines collected by the Transport Department and the Commissionerate police and use 50 per cent of the fund to provide immediate financial help to the accident victims to provide treatment before their near and dear ones arrive. But such a fund is yet to be set up by the State Government, said Nanda.
Further, the committee had asked the State to set up traffic police stations adjacent to the National Highways. Accordingly, 30 traffic PSs should have been established, but the proposal has remained in the cold storage in Odisha while other States like Andhra Pradesh have implemented it in true letter and spirit.
Similarly, the committee had asked to set up trauma care centres adjacent to the National Highways to provide immediate help to accident victims. But the proposal is yet to be implemented. Instead, the accident victims are being sent to the general hospitals by the 108 ambulance service instead of special ambulances. So, many lives which could have been saved are being lost, he said.
Besides, the Justice Radhakrishan Committee had asked the State to remove the black spots due to engineering faults where frequent accidents take place, but it is yet to be done.
Shockingly, out of the 20 ambulances provided by the Union Road Safety Ministry, 18 are gathering dust instead of being used to carry accident victims. Similarly, out of the 10 cranes provided, eight are out of use. Interestingly, the Road Safety Society which should utilise the road safety fund for creating awareness has gifted a Toyata Innova SUV to the Transport Minister with the society fund, alleged Nanda.
Nearly Rs 2 to Rs 3 crore of the road safety fund is lying unutised with the Commissionerate police and the RTOs even as an average of 15 persons are dying in a day in mishaps in the State.
Though the State Government is opening new RTO offices, the staffing pattern is yet to be changed and there is a chronic shortage of staffs. Taking advantage of it, dalals are ruling the roost in the RTO offices and virtually running them.
The State Government had launched a heavy vehicle driving training school with much hype at Chhatia in collaboration with the Ashok leyland to train heavy vehicle drivers. But it is yet to be fully operational. So, it is not at all surprising that many heavy vehicles are meeting with accidents daily, said Nanda. If one gives a thought to all these facts, one can be sure how seriously road safety is a priority on the part of the Transport Department and other agencies.