Patna: The transport department issued a notice to all district magistrates to felicitate at least two "good Samaritans" in their districts this Independence Day.
Good Samaritans are people who volunteer to rush road accident victims to hospital. The transport department, as part of road safety week, had earlier launched a special drive to implement the Supreme Court ruling that protects good Samaritans.
In March 2016, the apex court put its stamp on government guidelines to protect good Samaritans, but bystanders often avoid taking the accident-hit to hospital because they do not want to be drawn into police proceedings. The guidelines followed a Supreme Court judgment on a petition filed by a non-government organisation, Save Life Foundation.
"We had already launched a special drive on this front and have now decided to felicitate good Samaritans with Rs 5,100 in cash and a citation," transport secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal told The Telegraph. "I have written to all district magistrates to choose at least two hidden heroes in their respective districts and felicitate them during the evening cultural programme organised in every district on August 15."
In Patna, the felicitation will take place at a separate programme to be organised later and not at the state function at Gandhi Maidan in chief minister Nitish Kumar's presence.
The state transport department had earlier set up a standard operating procedure for police and hospitals - both government-run as well as private ones - to ensure that those who bring the injured to hospital are not harassed.
Agarwal said that after the drive, many people came forward to help accident victims, many even donating blood in emergency situations. "They are hidden heroes of Bihar and now they will not be hidden any more, they will be public heroes. I must say that there is no limit to choosing such heroes and if the numbers are higher, we will felicitate all on Republic Day and during Bihar Diwas celebrations," Agarwal said.
Timely intervention during the golden hour - the first 60 minutes after an accident - can save many lives. Around 4,000 people died in road accidents in Bihar last year.
