One road accident death every four minute: Bihar disaster management body chief
2 min readPatna: Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) vice-chairman Anil Kumar Sinha on Thursday cautioned people of the state against rash driving, as one road accident occurs every minute and one road accident death every fourth minute in the country.
Calling the deaths caused by way of road accidents an “invisible epidemic” even in Bihar, Sinha said the cumulative number of deaths caused by road accidents annually is higher than the number of people who get killed during disasters of different kinds, and, therefore, it was incumbent on vehicle users to avoid rash driving and adhere to road safety norms.
Sinha was addressing a meeting of officials of transport department, in which representatives of Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), NGOs and other voluntary groups also participated to give their suggestion for inclusion. The BSDMA, transport department and traffic police will hold road safety week beginning January 11 in the state as part of the simultaneous nationwide drive regarding road safety awareness.
BSDMA would be sending an advisory to all its district units on the need and ways of road safety awareness campaign in synergy with the transport department, traffic police and voluntary groups. Sinha said Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) would be requested to distribute among people pamphlets, leaflets, posters and other materials on road safety needs and norms under corporate social responsibility. “IOC, or any other company, voluntary body and group can use our content for awareness drive,” he said.
As a representative of the transport department explained, a weeklong programme had already been planned for implementation in Patna and other towns, beginning January 11. Already, traffic police have been announcing road safety norms to be followed by using microphones at roundabouts and crossings.
On January 11, schoolchildren of select schools would march in a procession from Kargil Chowk to Dak Bungalow crossing, appealing to vehicle users, pedestrians and other road users to adhere to prescribed road safety norms to avoid road accidents. Moreover, talks were also being held with other select schools to hold debate and painting competitions and poster exhibition, among other activities, to be conducted during the weeklong road safety week in Patna.
Courtesy: TNN
