Lucknow, March 2,: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Safety Council on Sunday.
In the meeting, the Chief Minister gave necessary guidelines to effectively curb road accidents in the state. During this, ministers of the concerned departments, government level officers, divisional commissioners of all divisions, District Magistrates of all districts, Police Commissioners and Superintendents of Police were present.
Discussing the annual data of road accidents, the Chief Minister said that 46052 road accidents have occurred in the year 2024. In this, 34600 people have been injured, while more than 24 thousand deaths have occurred, which is very sad. It has to be minimized at all costs.
He said that all the concerned departments related to road safety should control road accidents through collective efforts by making mutual coordination. Also, identify black spots on all the roads of the state and get them fixed.
Expressing concern about the treatment of people injured in road accidents, the Chief Minister said that arrangements should be made for hospitals like food plazas on both sides of all expressways. Along with this, deployment of trauma centers, ambulances and trained staff should also be ensured in the hospitals of all divisional headquarters.
In the year 2024, out of the 75 accidents in the state, the maximum loss of life has occurred in 20 districts – Hardoi, Mathura, Agra, Lucknow, Bulandshahr, Kanpur Nagar, Prayagraj, Sitapur, Unnao, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Aligarh, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Badaun, Meerut and Bijnor. 42 percent of the total accident deaths in the state are from these districts.
To control this, he directed to find out the factors of the accident and increase awareness about road safety among the people.
Chief Minister said that to prevent road accidents, it is necessary that the meeting of the Divisional Road Safety Committee should be held every month at the district level and quarterly at the divisional level.
He said that only one meeting was held last year in the six divisions of the state, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Saharanpur and Agra divisions, which needs to be increased.
He expressed satisfaction over the four meetings held in Basti, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Mirzapur.
Yogi directed the districts Balrampur, Firozabad, Gonda, Chandauli and Jaunpur, which held less meetings of the District Road Safety Committee in the year 2024, and said that meetings should be held in these districts this week itself.
He directed the 38 districts which held 10 or more meetings and said that these districts should also organize a meeting of the District Road Safety Committee on the basis of the SOP issued by the government.
He said that over speeding, drink and drive, driving on the wrong side, jumping red light and use of mobile phone are the main factors for road accidents. For this, there is a need to spread awareness among the people.
He said that the Basic Education Department, Secondary Education Department and Higher Education Department should spread awareness by organizing various activities related to road safety in their schools and colleges. Also, he said that traffic rules should be added to the curriculum of schools of Basic and Secondary Education Department.
There should be no liquor shops on the side of expressways and highways. He said that it is often seen that the signage of liquor shops is very big, these should be made smaller. Buses without permit should not be allowed to run on the roads. Take effective action against illegal vehicles and overloaded trucks. Stop vehicles coming from other states without permit at the border. Establish communication with Transport Association and Vehicle Association and ensure that there are two drivers on long distance vehicles.
The Chief Minister said that the number of cranes, patrolling vehicles and ambulances should be increased on expressways and highways.
He said that there are 93 roads of NHAI in the state, out of which cameras are installed on only four roads, cameras should be installed on the remaining roads as well. It is often seen that many accidents happen while crossing the road, in view of this, foot over bridges are required on many roads of NHAI, identify the places and get them constructed as well.
He said that signage related to road safety must be installed on all major roads of the state.
The Chief Minister said that in urban areas it is seen that minor children are driving e-rickshaws. Effectively curb this. Also, verification of all e-rickshaw drivers must be done.
He said that the RTO office should be kept completely free from middlemen, for this, random checking campaigns should be conducted from time to time. Road jam is becoming a big problem. Sufficient manpower is available in the state for smooth traffic movement. If required, improve traffic management by training the soldiers of civil police, PRD and Home Guard.
He said that table top speed breakers should be constructed outside hospitals, schools and main markets.
