BHUBANESWAR: Worried over the rise in road accident deaths, the Odisha government has decided to integrate wayside amenities and highway patrolling provisions into all future national and state highway projects besides undertaking a comprehensive audit of urban roads to enhance pedestrian safety.
As per the decision taken at a recent high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary Manoj Ahuja, highway patrolling and wayside amenities would be included in the project estimates before construction and expansion of national and state highways.
These amenities are expected to address driver fatigue, improve emergency response and enhance enforcement on high-speed corridors. In order to strengthen safety in cities, all urban roads will undergo audits to check for pedestrian infrastructure such as footpaths, foot over-bridges (FoBs), crossings and proper signages.
The transport commissioner has been asked to engage urban experts and certified safety auditors in consultation with the Housing and Urban Development department to carry out the exercise and ensure that audit recommendations are implemented in a time-bound manner.
“The commissionerate police is all set to onboard an external agency to conduct a detailed survey for improving traffic flow and enforcement in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The audit findings will be shared with all implementing authorities for corrective action,” said a Transport department official.
With rural belts accounting for a disproportionately higher share of accident fatalities, the Rural Development department has been asked to identify the reasons behind the trend and prepare a dedicated action plan in consultation with the Transport commissioner for reducing road crashes in rural areas.
It was decided that ambulances will be stationed at identified black spots and vulnerable stretches, with direction to nearby hospitals to remain in readiness for immediate treatment of accident victims.With 6,142 deaths, the state recorded a seven per cent rise in road fatalities last year as compared to 2023, continuing an upward trend even as the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety has mandated a 50 pc reduction by 2030.