Agartala, February 20, 2024: In a bid to reduce the alarming number of road accidents in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the issue of road safety very seriously and changed the law accordingly, said Tripura Chief Minister Professor Dr. Manik Saha on Tuesday.
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the National Road Safety Month – 2024, organized by the State Transport Department at Swami Vivekananda Maidan, Agartala.
He urged everyone to join hands in preventing accidents and raising awareness among the people, especially the young drivers who are more prone to accidents due to excessive speed and reckless driving.
He also informed that the state government has taken an initiative to use modern technology to identify and prevent accidents in the accident-prone areas of the state.
The Chief Minister expressed his concern over the high number of fatalities and injuries caused by road accidents in the country last year. He said that 1 lakh 68 thousand people lost their lives and more than 400,000 people were seriously injured in road accidents in 2023.
He said that most of the victims were between the ages of 18 and 35, and their deaths and injuries not only affected them but also their families and the society at large. He also said that road accidents caused a huge socio-economic loss of 3.14 percent of GDP.
He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for amending the National Road Safety Policy in the Motor Vehicle Act 2020, and said that the Defense Department has taken the initiative to identify the accident-prone areas in the state and take measures to prevent accidents in those areas with the cooperation of the Transport Department.
The Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given special importance to reducing road traffic accidents to zero, and that the state government also takes this matter very seriously.
He appealed to the people to obey the rules and regulations of road safety, and to be more careful and aware while driving. He said that one should always drive with the thought that they can get into an accident at any time, and that this can help avoid accidents to a large extent.
He also said that various important measures, including breath analyzers, have been adopted to prevent accidents, and that awareness against reckless and speeding car or bike driving is the only way to save lives. He warned the drivers between the ages of 18 and 35 not to put themselves and others in harm’s way by driving carelessly, and to never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The Chief Minister also said that the government is working to widen the national highway and increase the number of roads in the state, as the number of vehicles has increased significantly over the years.
He gave statistics to show that in 1971, the number of vehicles in Tripura was only 3,672, and currently the number of vehicles in the state is about 8 lakh. He said that the roads have not increased to keep pace with the increase in vehicles, and that the government is trying to increase the number of roads, including the expansion of national highways.
He also said that state-of-the-art technology is being used to identify speeders and enforce traffic rules. He said that the Prime Minister has decided to build more than 1000 restrooms across the country for the long-distance drivers, so that they can rest in between driving. He also said that plans have been made to provide fast ambulance services to the accident-prone areas, so that the victims can get timely medical assistance.
The event was attended by distinguished guests from various departments, including Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, Agartala Municipal Corporation Mayor Dipak Majumder, DG of Police Amitabh Ranjan, IB DG Anurag Dhankar, Transport Secretary Uttam Kumar Chakma, and Transport Commissioner Uttam Mandal. Students from different educational institutions also joined the event, which was part of a month-long road safety campaign by the Transport and Traffic Department to raise public awareness.
