Various functions were held in the run up and on the concolusion of the road safety week on Sunday. Apart from official programmes held in various district head quarters of the State and the events held at the local level by voluntary organisations, events were also held outside the State which focused on the measures taken by the Government of India for making road travel safer especially on the Char Dham Yatra route in Uttarakhand.
Speaking at one such functioning in the national capital, officials informed about the works sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways including installation of crash barriers and parapets on the entire Char Dham Yatra route to curb accidents and make pilgrimage safer also featured in the programme held in the national capital on the occasion.
“To make travel safer and more convenient on the mountainous and difficult terrains of Char Dham route, the union road ministry has decided to install crash barriers on the entire stretch. Road crash barrier systems are used world wide on highways especially on mountain roads to physically prevent vehicles from running off the roadway or falling down a steep slope and protect vehicle from hitting a road side object” said MR Sanjay Mitra, Secretary, ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) while inaugurating a seminar on ‘Pursuing 4Es for Road Safety – in the Mission Mode’ organised by the International Road Federation (IRF).
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already laid foundation stone of Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun recently . The Char Dham highway development project, is an ambitious initiative to improve connectivity to the Char Dham pilgrimage centres in the Himalayas. The project’s main objective is to develop around 900 km of national highways. These highways will be built in Uttarakhand at an approximate cost of Rs 12,000 crore. The entire stretch will have all weather road with bypasses, tunnels, bridges flyovers and proper slope stabilisation to ensure protection against landslides,” he said.
“To ensure road safety especially in high rainfall areas in the country including Uttarakhand, the government also plans to incorporate latest technologies and safety features including soil and slope stabilisation and roadside safety in mountainous terrain infrastructure, crash barriers, intelligent traffic plans, rumble strips, use of speed governors and proper signage’s” said Anand Kumar, Managing Director , National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation ltd (NHIDCl) while speaking at the seminar.
“At present most of the mountain roads in the country have been constructed round the mountain slopes which remain cut off during heavy rains due to land slides. Construction of well engineered safe tunnels and long bridges will help in movement of traffic around the year. Apart from construction of tunnels and long bridges government is also working on use of appropriate technologies for soil and slope stabilisation for building safer roads in the mountains. This will include use of locally available materials, growing local flora and fauna on slopes. The other measures will include training of local youth, special separate tough driving license for hill drivers, use of vehicle tracking system and development of safety code for hills” said Kumar
IRF chairman KK Kapila said, “The ministry of road should focus on building engineering safe roads rather than more roads as rectifying faulty designed roads with black spots is more expensive than building safe roads. Similarly the stress should also be on safe vehicles with safety as higher visibility features including ABS brakes, reflective tapes on commercial vehicles and mandatory fog lamps on all vehicles. ”
Meanwhile, government departments and voluntary organisations also held various programmes to mark the conclusion of the road safety week. In Dehradun, SHEWA organisation held a programme to raise awareness on the consequences of road accidents.
Speaking on the occasion Dr BKS Sanjay claimed that his research had revealed that about 90 per cent of road traffic accidents are caused by negligence of the driver while the remaining 10 per cent are caused by other factors. Calling traffic accidents a social problem, he said that there were numerous educational institutions in the country but few proper driving schools. Driving education is also an important requirement but there is negligible number of driving school in the country, he opined.