BHUBANESWAR: The state government has asked the district school authorities to ensure strict implementation of school zone safety guidelines to check road accidents near educational institutions.
Commerce and Transport secretary Usha Padhee, in a letter to her SME counterpart Shalini Pandit, requested to instruct district education officers (DEOs) to actively participate in deliberations of district road safety committees for implementation of the school zone safety guidelines.
The DEOs in coordination with the RTOs, executive engineers, executive officers of urban local bodies, tehsildars and other stakeholders should conduct field verification and identify vulnerable schools located near major roads, the Transport secretary said.
“If needed, a joint coordination meeting may be convened between the SME department and Transport department officials in presence of other stakeholders to review the implementation status and field-level challenges,” she added. The move has been necessitated in view of an accident that occurred in March 2023 in Sonepur district, killing three students.
