Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to incorporate a module on road accidents in its crime and criminal training network and systems (CCTNS).
The module will help analyse and ascertain reasons for accidents and also suggest appropriate remedial measures to avert such mishaps, official sources said.
At a meeting held last week, it has been decided to put in place an online accident management system. State transport officials have been directed to make the system operational within four months. Once operational, citizens will have direct access to the online system.
Road safety has become as a priority area of the state government as accident deaths are high in Odisha. According to official records, 10,855 road accidents last year had claimed more than 4,700 lives in the state.
Reviewing road safety measures last week, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi has instructed district collectors and police chiefs to prepare specific action plans to curb deaths on roads.
District collectors of Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Angul, Cuttack, Ganjam, Jajpur, Sambalpur and Balangir were asked to take special measures to curb accidents as these districts reported high incidents of deaths on the road. The regional transport officers were directed to cancel licenses of errant drivers caught during police checking. Besides, it was decided to empower rural police to take penal action against rash driving. State transport commissioner Madhu Sudan Padhi stressed on the regular use of interceptors to curb rash driving.
The meeting was told that so far 40 interceptor vehicles had been pressed into service across the state. Besides, more than 140 enforcement squads work in the districts. Last year, 59,871 cases of rash driving were identified more than 21,000 driving licenses had been cancelled.
The government will also organise more public awareness campaigns to cut down on road mishaps. Besides, National Highway Authority of India officials have been directed to take measures to keep roads safe while undertaking expansion of national highways.
