BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday announced that Odisha will adopt an expanded 6-E road safety framework - Education, Enforcement, Engineering, Emergency Care, Environment and Evaluation - and declared that road safety will now be an integral component of good governance in the state.
Unveiling a series of road projects and transport initiatives aimed at strengthening road safety, urban mobility and sustainable public transport across the state during observance of the National Road Safety Month, he called upon citizens to strictly follow traffic rules.
Expressing deep concern over the rising number of road accidents, the chief minister launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Sadak Suraksha Yojana Samman’. Under the scheme, districts, educational institutions and private organisations will be recognised for outstanding performance in road safety, while poor performers will be held accountable.
In a pioneering initiative, he inaugurated a warning siren system at Kalinga Ghat to alert drivers when vehicles approach from both sides of the steep terrain. The pilot project will be replicated at other ghats after evaluation. An MoU was signed with IIT-Kharagpur for advanced traffic management in Twin City Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
To promote green mobility, Majhi inaugurated 15 EV charging stations in Bhubaneswar and announced that 85 more were under construction across the state. He also launched 100 BS-VI compliant buses worth Rs 46 crore for OSRTC and introduced the Closed Loop Smart Transit Card for cashless travel.
At Berhampur, 25 new e-buses were flagged off from a newly-built CRUT high-tech depot. The chief minister also inaugurated 14 Atal Bus Stands across 10 districts at a cost of Rs 156.53 crore, and announced that similar facilities would be developed in all districts, blocks and municipalities.
“Our goal of a prosperous Odisha and a developed Odisha cannot be achieved without modern road transport and safe transport system,” Majhi said seeking cooperation of all for the success of the initiatives taken by the state government.
He handed over vehicle keys to five women drivers under the Ama Subahak Yojana, which provides government-backed loans for vehicle ownership.
Commerce & Transport minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena, Works minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, School and Mass Education minister Nityananda Gond, Higher Education minister Suryabanshi Suraj, senior officials and district representatives attended the event.