BHUBANESWAR: As fatalities arising out of road accidents remain a major cause of concern, the Transport Department has chalked out a plan to collaborate with the National Cadet Corps (NCC) for ‘junior rakshak’ programme.
Initially, the department has decided to train 62,000 NCC cadets to act as first responders in road accidents. The department said the junior rakshaks can help save precious lives by instantly providing first aid to people injured in road accidents.
“The transport department will provide training to the cadets at various NCC camps in the state. NCC trainers will also be imparted first aid skills so that they are able to train their new cadets,” said an official.
The department is planning to impart training on first aid to around 20,000 NCC cadets every year. The Transport Department will sign an MoU for junior rakshak programme with NCC at Lok Seva Bhawan here on March 6 in the presence of Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu.
Officials said ‘rakshak’ programme, which was launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in 2021, played a significant role in enhancing state’s emergency response capabilities.
The objective of the programme was to save lives during ‘golden hour’ by ensuring prompt and effective first aid and transportation of injured persons to nearest hospitals. As of now, there are over 12,000 first responders trained across all districts. On March 6, the foundation stone laying ceremony of the much-awaited truck terminals will also be held.
Transport department sources said around 21 truck terminals are expected to become operational in various districts of the state within a year. Meanwhile, the commissionerate police has also intensified its drive against drunken driving to curb road accidents in the capital city.
It had launched My Road My Safety drive last month to check traffic offences like drunken driving, jumping red light and using mobile phone while driving/riding and driving on the wrong side. In the last one month, the city police have seized more than 880 vehicles from various people for committing traffic offences.