Odisha Categorized as ‘High Performer’ State in Implementing Road Safety Measures

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has been categorized as a ‘high performer’ state in implementation of road safety measures suggested by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCRS), officials said on Tuesday.

A team of consultants engaged by the committee visited Odisha for 15 days in June and conducted a detailed study to assess the implementation status of the road safety directions issued to the states.

As per the compliance report shared by the team with the state transport department, Odisha has scored 66 per cent and is categorized under the ‘high performers’ in the implementation of various road safety measures.

The team specially praised a few initiatives of the department, including project Rakshak, Vahak and National Road Safety Short Film Festival, the officials of the State Transport Authority (STA) said.

The team has also praised helmet compliance in Bhubaneswar. The agency praised the smart queue system implemented at the RTO in Bhubaneswar. The report said the smart queue system is working perfectly with the help of complementing infrastructure.

The panel observed that even though the state is in the higher performer category, there are still a lot of improvements required to be made. On-ground effectiveness also needs special focus in enforcing the rules and laws, equipment and infrastructure availability and functioning, it suggested.

In the institutional category, which includes functioning of lead agency and utilization of road safety fund, the agency has given 19 out of 25 to Odisha.
Similarly, the state has obtained 15.7 per cent out 25 per cent for enforcement and 14.4 per cent out of 25 per cent for engineering. It got 10.5 per cent out of 15 per cent in emergency care and 6.3 per cent out of 10 per cent in education score.

During the field visit, the road safety team observed various activities adopted by Odisha that can be considered as best practices and can be recommended to other states as well.

As per the guidelines issued by the SCCRS, the transport department is working towards construction of truck terminals and comprehensive trauma system care plan.

Soon, the command-and-control centre for CCTV will be functional and the footage will be monitored continuously for issuing E-challans to the traffic violators, informed the STA officials.
The frequency of enforcement drive has been increased and a consistent effort in this regard will help us in reducing road accidents in the state, they added.

(IANS)