Control The Death Toll Due To Road Accident Is The Target: CM Manik Saha

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Agartala
• Sep 08, 2024
• 323

"Seat belts must be fastened while driving to prevent accidents. Otherwise strict legal action will be taken. The traffic department should regularly monitor the wearing of seat belts and helmets while driving bikes and scooters. Also, don't wear a helmet to scare the police, wear a helmet to save yourself."

 Chief Minister Professor Dr. Manik Saha gave this stern message while addressing a function organized by the Department of Transport at Swami Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala on Sunday. 

On this day, with the initiative of the Transport Department, 16 vehicles were distributed to ensure road safety in the state, road accident information booklets were published, general traffic rules/guidelines were published, helmets were distributed among journalists accredited by the state government and the Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) at Jirana ( Chief Minister inaugurated driving training program for women (30 days duration). 

Inaugurating the program, Chief Minister Dr. Saha said that humanity must be awakened among all to deal with road accidents. Many times we face such incidents but we avoid them on the pretext of work. But after the accident, if the injured are rescued and brought to the hospital, there is a chance for first aid. So human sense should come to everyone. For this there is a need for mass awakening. Recently the people of Tripura have faced natural calamities like floods. Everyone has extended a helping hand to overcome this situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah extended a helping hand. Tripura government is also trying its best. 

  The Chief Minister said that if there is any accident somewhere, we should jump immediately with the sense of humanity. At that time many people came forward to help. Many others pass by. Giving statistics, the Chief Minister said that at least one and a half lakh people die in road accidents every year across the country. 5 lakh people were crippled in the accident. The number of vehicles is increasing every year. Along with this, the number of accidents is also increasing. We all need to be aware to prevent accidents. I myself have driven for a long time. Remember that accidents can happen at any time. Accidents can be avoided by driving carefully. The concerned departments of the government such as traffic, transport, works, health department are working together to prevent accidents. Driving while intoxicated has a high incidence of accidents. For this, a message of awareness should be given. Traffic rules must be obeyed. Where there is also accident proneness due to vehicle parking. 

Chief Minister Dr. Saha said on the occasion that the number of vehicles registered in Tripura so far is 7,87,203. Among them the number of two wheelers is 5,56,000. Two wheeler vehicles are the most. Tripura has had 3,307 road accidents in the last 6 years. 1,340 people died in these incidents. 3,724 people were injured. Many times it is seen that many people do not wear helmet while riding a bike or scooty and are going to talk by inserting the mobile phone on the side of the helmet. So be careful. On April 12, 2014, the Supreme Court constituted a committee on road safety. We know it as Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCORS). Tripura has also constituted a State Road Safety Council at the state level. Moreover, State Road Safety Committee has been constituted. On January 31, 2017, a directive stated that seat belts must be worn while driving. But very few people wear seat belts while driving. So I appeal to the traffic department to strictly monitor this matter. Helmets are not for fearing the police. Wear a helmet to protect yourself. Having a helmet saves many lives. The message of wearing helmet should be conveyed to the youth. In addition to this, the guidelines state that foreign liquor shops must be 100 meters away from the national highway. In this case, priority should be given. Transport and traffic department should also keep an eye on this. A thorough report should be brought to us. According to the law, if anyone has opened a foreign liquor shop within 100 meters, they must be removed. 

The chief minister said that if the injured can be reached at the hospital within the golden hour of the accident i.e. 1 hour (60 minutes), then it is possible to save him. For this, a reward of 5 thousand taka has been arranged for the rescuer. More monitoring should be done to avoid road accidents. It will be possible to reduce the number of accidents. 

  Minister of Transport Department Sushant Chowdhury, Mayor and MLA of Agartala Pur Nigam Deepak Majumdar, Director General of State Police Amitabh Ranjan, Director General of Police (Detective) Anurag, Dhyankar, Secretary of Transport Department C.K. Jamatia, Transport Commissioner Subrata Chowdhury and other officials. Besides, police and traffic department staff participated in this event. Besides, on behalf of all the employees of the Transport Department, an amount of Tk 1,73,350 was given to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for the flood victims. The Chief Minister thanked all of them for this