Shri Nitin Gadkari addresses Road Safety Forum 2016: calls upon NGOs to participate in the national campaign on Road Safety
Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari has
called upon the citizens and NGOs to participate in the national
campaign on Road Safety to create awareness about road safety issues in
the country. The Minister was addressing the Road Safety Forum 2016, the
national meet of NGOs on Road Safety, in New Delhi today. Expressing
concern over 5 lakh road accidents in the country per year in which
about 1.4 lakh people lose their lives, Shri Gadkari said that
containing road accidents and saving lives is not possible by the
government alone - it needs the support of the citizens, the NGOs and
the media in this regard.
Shri Gadkari pointed out several issues related to road safety like
identification of accident black spots, training and health check up of
drivers and educating the general public including children about road
safety issues, where the NGOs can play a vital role. He called upon the
NGOs to give their suggestions on issues related to road safety, and
assured them that the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways will
take these up in a suitable manner. He especially urged the
organizations to help the government in its efforts to identify accident
black spots across the country, so that the concerned authorities can
be asked to take remedial action to make the sites safe. Shri Gadkari
further informed that identification of black spots and taking
corrective action to make these sites safe is a major priority for the
Ministry. 726 black spots have identified across the country and Rs.
11,000 Crore have been earmarked to address this problem.
Throwing light on other efforts of the Government to contain road
accidents, Shri Gadkari said that the present system of issuing driving
licenses will soon be replaced by a transparent and efficient
computerized licensing system. He further informed that driving schools
are being opened across the country to train drivers. Fitness of
drivers is another major concern that the Government will be addressing.
Shri Gadkari said that over 3000 centres will be set up in rural areas
to train drivers and address fitness related issues. He also said that
roadside amenities will be equipped with helipads for quick transfer of
accident victims to hospitals and all busy traffic corridors will have
trauma centres along the highways.
The minister announced that the road safety campaign will not be limited
to only the Road Safety Week but will continue throughout the year. He
said a train will be run across the country with exhibition on road
safety to create awareness on the subject.
The minister also announced that a scheme will be worked out to provide
NGOs working in the field of the road safety with Rs. 3 lakh
financial support. Awards will also be instituted for the best
performing NGOs.
Shri Gadkari also emphasized that apart from road safety, the Ministry
was also committed to reducing pollution in the road and transport
sector. He said that the government has decided to implement Euro VI
standards for automobiles from 1st April 2020. The use of electric
vehicles and of bio-diesel, biogas, and ethanol as fuel is also being
promoted.
Shri Gadkari also launched a Facebook page on road safety, termed as
Road Safety: Time for Action. The page will be a platform for discussion
on various issues related to road safety and the wide array of work
being done in this area.
The Minister also gave prizes to winners of a contest on films on road
safety. Shri Akshat Nangia of New Delhi, Shri Bablu Thomas of
Trivandrum, Shri Chirag Acharya of Mumbai and Shri Raja Gopal Singh of
Ghaziabad got the first, second, third and fourth prizes respectively.
***
MA/NP
(Release ID :134465)
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