BHUBANESWAR: With the Centre developing an integrated road accident database (iRAD) to keep a track on such mishaps across the country, Odisha government is set to scrap its plan for developing a similar information system to avoid duplication. The pan-Indian application iRAD integrated with Sarathi and Vahan has been rolled out in all districts in the State.
A State Transport department official said not only the police but also the field-level functionaries of the department and road-owning agencies will encounter the problem of duplication. The Crime Branch, which has been entrusted to monitor road accidents and prepare the database, has opined that RAMIS in addition to iRAD will increase the workload of police officials without any additional benefits.
“As there is no additional benefit of spending public money for developing and running RAMIS, the Transport Commissioner has been asked to give his views whether to proceed further to develop the application or scrap it and use the information from iRAD. The lead agency would use the data for improving road safety in the State,” the official stated.
The State Transport department was in the process of developing road accident management information system (RAMIS) for joint inspection of accident spots, but no budget provision was made. While the initial cost for developing RAMIS was estimated at `46.67 lakh, the department is required to develop training materials and organise training programme for field-level officials to operationalise the application.
As per the iRAD application, once the assigned police officer visits the accident spot an ID for the particular case will be created and the case transferred to junior MVI/assistant MVI and the road engineer concerned for their views. The case will be then transferred to the medical officer of the area for recording of victim’s health condition. Technical officers have been posted at the State headquarters and at each district by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India (MoRT&H).
There has been a steady increase in road fatalities from 3,931 in 2014 to 4,738 in 2020, posting a rise of about 21 per cent in the State. The fatalities rose by more than 12 pc last year as compared to 2020.