Odisha launches highway patrolling system to check accident fatalities
BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched highway patrol initiative on 18 stretches of various state and national highways to save the lives of accident victims.
The highway patrolling units have been engaged on different routes in Ganjam, Berhampur, Khurda, Angul, Bargarh, Rourkela, Balasore, Bhadrak, Puri, Jajpur and Cuttack. Retired police and defence personnel have been appointed to work as special police officers (SPOs) to man the highway patrolling vehicles.
Expressing concern over road accident deaths on highways, Naveen said many valuable lives are lost every year in the state for this reason. “The government is committed to reduce such fatalities and is taking up several steps to contain these unfortunate incidents. The highway patrolling units will play a crucial role in saving the lives of accident victims on highways,” Naveen said at the virtual platform during the launch of the initiative.
The chief minister said the timing for taking an accident victim from a point of accident to the nearest hospital is crucial in saving lives. “The quicker we can take an injured person to hospital, the better is the chance of survival. These patrolling units will be highly useful in these circumstances by carrying the accident victims as quickly as possible,” Naveen said.
The chief minister said the state government has a target of creating 36 patrolling units in various accident prone stretches. He asked the officials to resume more sensitization initiatives for drivers on the road safety mechanisms and related laws.
The Supreme Court committee on road safety had in 2019 asked the state government to introduce highway patrolling on accident-prone stretches to reduce the road fatalities. The government in January last year had approved the engagement of 119 retired cops to execute the project. However, the initiative was delayed due to Covid pandemic.
Sources said the government will pay Rs 17,000 salary every month to each SPO. Besides, each of them will get Rs 75 monthly allowance for laundry service and Rs 3,856 annually for uniform allowance. The transport department had given Rs 10 crore to the state police in August 2019 to hire retired police personnel, purchase vehicles and other road safety equipment for the launch of the project.