Naveen Appeals All to Follow Road Safety Rules ahead of ‘Zero Fatality Week’

Bhubaneswar: As Odisha is all set to observe the Zero Fatality Week’ from tomorrow, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday appealed to all to follow the road safety rules in true spirit and spread awareness to protect every precious life.

In a Twitter post, the Chief Minister said that reckless driving and unsafe road use lead to accidents which endanger our lives and lives of others.

“Odisha is going to observe ‘Zero Fatality Week’ from 1-7 April. Let’s join hands to follow road safety rules in true spirit and spread awareness to protect every precious life”, the CM stated.

With an aim to prevent road accidents and related casualties, the Odisha Government will observe ‘Zero Fatality Week’ from April 1 to 7 across the State.

The Commerce and Transport Department has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to all the stakeholders including government departments, district Collectors and SPs /DCPs for smooth observance of the drive.

Explaining road accidents as a big challenge for Odisha, Commerce & Transport Department Principal Secretary Usha Padhee said, “Every life is precious. Road safety is a high priority area for our government and we are taking lot of initiatives for reduction of road accidents in the state. The state government has adopted a fourfold strategy-Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Emergency care to ensure zero death during the week. There is nothing more important and pious than saving the life of a person who has met with an accident.”

Odisha witnessed 11,663 road accidents with 5,467 fatalities in 2022. There is an increase in fatalities by 7.60 % in fatalities as compared with 2021, the Commerce & Transport department stated.