BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched a road safety initiative ‘Rakshak’ under which 30,000 first responders will be trained by 300 master trainers in all 30 districts.Speaking at the event, Naveen urged people to immediately attend to road accident victims and help them get treatment.
Stating that everyone is a Good Samaritan and there is nothing more pious than saving human lives, he said road accidents are a cause of concern today. “This has a serious impact on families and our economy. In a road accident situation, the first hour after the incident is the most critical for saving lives,” he said.
Under the initiative, the State government will train volunteers from roadside communities including eateries, small repair shops, fuel stations and police personnel as first responders to road accident victims. They will be equipped to administer first aid and pre-hospital trauma care to accident victims within the golden hour on both the National and State highways.
Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera said it is a first-of-its-kind initiative in which 30,000 volunteers working at the eateries and different business establishments located along highways will be trained as first responders to road accidents.“Fatalities can be averted if victims are provided medical care within the first hours of an accident. It is very critical that first responders are properly trained to handle the road accidents,” he added.
The training programme for first responders will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase, 300 master trainers will be trained by experts from Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) at 10 places - Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Balasore, Koraput, Phulbani, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Bhawanipatna.
In the second phase, the 300 master trainers will go to accident prone areas in all districts and train the locals to render help to road accident victims. The first responders will also educate and inform people about road safety measures and the Good Samaritan law.
On the occasion, Odisha Public Transport and Integrated Commuter System was inaugurated by the Chief Minister. Citizens will be able to know about the bus at a location and other information such as RC, permit, route and time through the application. Principal Secretary of Transport Madhu Sudan Padhi and Transport Commissioner-cum-Chairman of State Transport Authority Arun Bothra also spoke.