Agartala, 7 December 2024: Raising public awareness is essential to preventing road accidents, said Transport Secretary C.K. Jamatia during a meeting of the State Road Safety Committee at the Secretariat today. He emphasized that road accidents cannot be stopped solely through enforcement of laws and called for public cooperation and coordination in addressing the issue.
C.k.Jamatia underscored the importance of awareness campaigns in schools and colleges, as well as organizing drills to educate people about road safety measures. He also advised collaborative efforts between traffic police, fire services, emergency services, and the transport department to enhance road safety.
Additional Secretary of the Transport Department, Subrata Chowdhury, provided a detailed account of the department’s achievements, preventive measures taken to curb road accidents, future action plans, and new initiatives. He highlighted the use of advanced equipment and technology, such as interceptor vehicles, breath analyzers, speed radar guns, and the E-DAR portal, to improve traffic management. Chowdhury also presented a comparative analysis of road accident statistics for 2023 and 2024.
The Additional Secretary further mentioned the “Good Samaritan” initiative, under which individuals who assist accident victims within the golden hour are awarded INR 5,000. Each Good Samaritan is eligible to receive the reward up to five times a year. Additionally, the “Hit and Run” scheme provides financial aid of up to INR 2 lakh for medical expenses. Interested individuals can apply for these benefits through the district-level Road Safety Committees at the District Magistrate’s office.
He also noted that, as per Supreme Court directives, the state is required to form a dedicated Road Safety Wing and appoint a State Nodal Officer to oversee road safety measures.
The meeting also discussed widening roads, promoting the use of footpaths, and implementing measures to address accident-prone areas and black spots in the state and districts. Suggestions were made to increase awareness regarding penalties for reckless driving and license suspensions. Officials were instructed to distribute awareness booklets and conduct public announcements via miking.
The meeting stressed the need for regular district-level Road Safety Committee meetings and uploading updates to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways portal. Discussions also highlighted the potential appointment of consultants to improve road safety and traffic management.
The meeting was attended by Tripura Road Transport Corporation Managing Director Uttam Mondal, Traffic SP Manik Das, Joint Secretary of the Transport Department Maitri Debnath, members of the State Road Safety Committee, and district transport officials.
