BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday launched 55 road safety programmes and projects worth Rs 575.77 crore covering all the districts of the state.
Inaugurating the Zero Accident Day and Road Safety Week programme here, the chief minister said accidents not only affect individuals and families but also have a significant impact on the state’s economy.
He said road accident-related deaths have become a significant problem in India with 75.2 per cent of such fatalities caused by speeding.
“Drivers often forget the golden rule of driving: ‘Speed thrills, but it also kills’. Wrong-side driving, drunk driving and using mobile phones while driving contribute to accident-related deaths. People should be cautious and avoid these mistakes to ensure safety of their lives as well as others,” he said.
The Zero Accident Day campaign will continue till June 28. It is being conducted in collaboration with IIT-Madras. On this occasion, Majhi launched 11 automated driving testing systems (ADTS) in various districts with an investment of Rs 24 crore. He also launched the second phase of the Driving Electronic Enforcement to Save Human Lives (DISHA) project worth Rs 215 crore, which will cover 485 km of national and state highways.
He also laid the foundation stone for the third phase of the project, which will cover 1,007 km. A second registered vehicle scrapping centre was also inaugurated in Jajpur district.
Majhi launched the state’s first automated vehicle-testing centre in Cuttack and laid foundation stones for 20 more facilities across the state which will be set up at an investment of Rs 211 crore. He also launched 15 Volvo buses on various routes, including Puri to Ayodhya, Tirupati, Ujjain, Hyderabad, Bhilai, Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam, Bhawanipatna to Hyderabad, and Rayagada to Hyderabad, under the brand name Shri Jagannath Express. The government has invested Rs 27.3 crore in the buses.
The CM also inaugurated three Atal Bus Stands in Bhadrak and Balasore districts along with the Integrated Transport Management System (ITMS) and Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation.