Road Safety Week 2018: How These States Are Pledging Their Support For Safer Roads In India
New Delhi: In India, more than 13 lakh people have been killed in preventable road crashes, whereas more than 50 lakh people have been seriously injured or disabled in road crashes in last ten years. What’s worrisome is the fact that this gruesome instances are constantly on the rise. According to a report on Road Accidents in India 2016, published by Transport Research wing under Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India, at least 17 deaths occur every hour in our country due to road accidents. The report also revealed that more people have lost lives on roads in 2016 as compared to the number of deaths in 2015 due to road accidents.
To bring about a change and make the country’s roads safer, National Safety Council of India along with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways observes ‘Road Safety Week’ every year in January. This year, India is celebrating 29th Road Safety Week from January 11 to January 17, however, many states and cities are celebrating the week on different days. But, for everyone, the motive is to prevent and control road accidents and initiate responsible driving among people.
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Here’s how some Indian States are observing the Road Safety Week 2018:
1. West Bengal Celebrates Road Safety Week With First Ever All India Traffic Conference: In Kolkata, for the first time ever, a two-day-long All India Traffic Conference was held during the Road Safety Week, to educate people on how they can make roads safer. It was held at a time when Bengal has gained huge success in reducing both fatal and non-fatal road accidents, thanks to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s statewide Safe Drive Save Life campaign which kick-started in July 2016, after it came to light that Bengal is one of the states in the country where many people lost their lives due to road accidents.
Today, the state has witnessed a drop in road accidents by 16.06 percent, injuries due to accidents have dropped by 12.10 percent and fatalities have gone down by 13.34 percent during the period of January-October 2017, compared to that of the same period of time in 2016.
Apart from the conference, two mobile vans decorated with road safety messages are making rounds around the city to educate and motivate people to follow simple traffic rules that can help save lives.
On January 19, a special rally by school students will be organised, where students will hold placards with messages on road safety. On January 21, a cycle rally in a bid to spread road safety messages will be organised.
2. Odisha Goes Big With ‘No Puja Without Helmet’ Concept: In a unique campaign, Odisha police has roped in the priests of the highly revered Maa Sarala temple in Jagatsinghpur district that attracts thousands of devotees. The priests have been asked to not conduct puja done specially for vehicles, if the owners turn up without helmets. The temple is known to be 1000 years old and holds special puja for vehicle owners. According to the Jagatsinghpur police estimate, nearly 10 new vehicles are brought to the temple every day for puja.
Meanwhile in Bhubaneshwar, 60 students of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) joined hands with Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge Centre of Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and performed a special flash mob to promote road safety. The main aim of the activity was to create awareness and sensitise citizens, especially youngsters on various road safety issues.
3. Andaman And Nicobar Educate People On Road Safety By Giving Lectures: In Andaman and Nicobar, road safety week will be observed from January 15 to 21, 2018. To make the week special, Andaman And Nicobar Traffic Police will deliver road safety lectures in schools, highlighting important issues on road safety and as students what they can do to make roads safer.
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4. Maharashtra Releases d A Special Report On Road Accidents In The State: On the occasion of road safety week, Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services (MEMS), one of the most widely used networks in case of road emergencies released a special report on road accidents in state. The report highlighted that the highest number of accidental emergencies in Maharashtra in 2017 occurred in Pune district. It also reports that in Pune, on an average 400 deaths take place every year due to road accidents and about half of them are two-wheeler riders.
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