Expressing concern over deaths due to road accidents, the government on Monday said India records the highest number of fatalities in the world numbering 1.5 lakh every year. Plans are afoot to make roads safe by removing black spots on national and state highways, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said in the Rajya Sabha.
Elders also flagged the issue of rising number of cancer cases in India and called for effective and speedy measures to check this issue. A demand was also made for removal of GST on cancer medicines.
Fielding questions on the issue of accidents, Gadkari said, "This is a very unfortunate subject. As many people do not die in war or Covid. Every year 1.5 lakh people die, we are the highest in the world. We have to work on it." Gadkari also said it was unfortunate that 65 per cent of those dying every year were in the 18-45 age group.
He informed the house the government will soon implement a Rs 7,500-crore scheme with the help of the World Bank to address the problem and reduce accident-prone and black spots on national and state highways.
Asserting that the government is sensitive to the issue, he said “We have urged the World Bank to implement this programme across the country. We will soon get cabinet approval on this scheme.”
The minister pitched for creating awareness, observance of rules, and improving road engineering and automobile engineering.
He sought the support of people including NGOs and educational institutions for creating awareness about road accidents.
He said states such as Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have helped reduce road accidents by around 50 per cent, while in places like Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Nagaland accidents have increased by 47 and 40 per cent respectively. Elders expressed concern over the rising cases of cancer in the country and suggested various measures, including regular check-up camps in rural areas and mandatory warning on processed meat packets, to tackle the disease.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Mahesh Poddar(BJP) demanded that cancer warning should be made mandatory on packets of processed meat in line with tobacco products.
He said the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) had announced in 2015 that consumption of processed meat and red meat may cause cancer. Poddar also said the country could witness as high as16 lakh cases annually by 2025. He suggested that in line with tobacco products, the government should make cancer warning mandatory on processed meat packets as well.
Rewati Raman Singh(SP) too expressed concern over the rising cases of cancer, saying about 1,400-1,600 people are losing their lives due to the disease everyday.
Congress member L Hanumanthaiah demanded that a special grant should be given to Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bengaluru to establish of a full-fledged proton therapy facility.
He said the institute needs Rs 550 crore to set up the facility, and it is only seeking Rs 230 crore under special grant from the central government. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the MPs can contribute to the institute.
Vandana Chavan(NCP) expressed concern over instances of misinformation during health crisis situations, and demanded that the government should develop a credible platform that provides "fast, accurate, authentic information" that is easily understandable.