BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has decided to utilise funds from District Mineral Foundation (DMF) or CSR for integrated traffic management system to check road fatalities in the State. The Commerce and Transport department has asked all districts to install CCTV surveillance system for intelligent enforcement of traffic violations at vulnerable stretches and black spots on highways from the DMF or CSR fund where DMF is not available.
The decision to utilise DMF or CSR fund in road safety activities was taken after the Sundargarh Collector sought approval of the government to implement a similar project in the district out of DMF fund. Principal Secretary of Transport department Madhusudan Padhi said Sundargarh Collector had expressed willingness to implement a project in the district out of DMF fund and it has been approved. “We have asked the collectors of other districts to take up similar projects out of DMF or CSR funds for building surveillance infrastructure to check road fatalities,” he said.
The system to be implemented under Driving Electronic Enforcement to Save Human Lives (DEESHA) scheme will detect the violations through automatic number plate recognition technology and send message to a dedicated command and control centre. The centre will be integrated with SARATHI, VAHAN and e-challan application, which will send message to the registered mobile number of the vehicle / driver about the violation. The e-challan will be generated through the system.
There has been steady increase in number of fatalities in Odisha due to road accidents from 3,931 in 2014 to 5,333 in 2019, an increase of about 36 per cent during the period. Last year, though the number of fatalities was less due to lockdown following the Covid-19 pandemic, there was over 30 pc rise in road fatalities post lockdown.
In view of the rising road deaths, the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety has directed to intensify enforcement against traffic rule violators and install CCTV cameras at the black spots and on highways, Padhi added. Meanwhile, the Transport Commissioner has initiated bid process for selection of a vendor for implementation of CCTV surveillance on the stretch from Rameswar (Khurda) to Chhatia (Jajpur).
Road fatalities
3,931 accidents in 2014
5,333 accidents in 2019
30 pc rise in road fatalities post lockdown