Punjab will soon have its own highway patrol police. Going the US way for applying brakes to road accidents, Punjab roads will soon have automatic radars to arrest speed, and capture the violators in cameras.
The Government has also decided to put up signages along side the highways, like those in foreign countries, and ensure that no posters are pasted on the same.
This is not all! The Government has also made a commitment to honour those who will help accidents victims and take them to hospital, at district level functions during Republic Day and Independence Day.
The steps were announced by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal while responding to the calling attention notice moved by Congress MlA Charanjit Singh Channi to discuss the issue of rising road accidents in the State.
listing a series of steps to curb road crashes, Sukhbir said that soon the State would have highway patrol police with 150 vehicles and patrolling centres, at strategic locations, equipped with ambulances, cranes, etc.
"Automatic radars will be installed on the highways with automatic cameras capturing the violators for over-speeding, and challan would be issued. A separate wing would be set up for this," he added.
He maintained that by March next, all roads across the State would have signages, as Rs10 crore tenders have already been invited. On the suggestion of Congress MlA Gurkirat Kotli, he agreed to make the signages big enough to be visible
from a distance.
Sukhbir cited increasing number of vehicles and pressure on available road infrastructure as one of the reasons for road accidents. "Every year 60 lakh vehicles added to the State roads. Taking this issue as a mission, first thing we are doing is four-laning of all national highways which will be done by next three years. later, State highways will also be four-laned," he added.
Accepting suggestions given by MlAs, Sukhbir added that rules would be made stringent for drunken and negligent driving. He asked the Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka to include traffic rules and compulsory subject.
He also announced setting up of driving schools for providing training to drivers. "I am contacting big companies. TATA's are already running a school here. Hinduja group has asked for land to set up a big driving school where more than 10,000 drovers be trained," he added.
On leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar's suggestion to do away with liquor vends along side the highways, Sukhbir said that it would be seen in the next excise policy.
The announcement comes as travelling on Punjab roads continues to be a tryst with death. In the absence of adequate steps by the Punjab Government to apply brakes on number of road accidents, the journey has ended before the destination for around 50 persons in all during the past three months in the State.
Already, Punjab has been declared as the State with highest number of deaths in road accidents in the country with a fatality rate of 75.8 per cent - highest in India.