DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Punjab Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar, on Wednesday, apprised that Punjab is first state in the country to identify all 784 accidental-prone black spots and rectified over 60 percent of them with latest engineering techniques. Addressing the drivers of PRTC/Pb Roadways buses, trucks and School buses, private bus operators, and taxi operators during the concluding ceremony of 'Road Safety Month' here at MAGSIPA, the Transport Minister said that so far, around Rs.700 cr have been incurred to rectify the black spots with the help of NHAI to further reduce the mortality rate in road accidents. He said that Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led government is consistently working to save the precious lives, for which various steps have been taken such as establishing dedicated Sadak Surkhya Force, installing CCTV cameras at junctions, use of speedo and alcho-meters, etc. He urged the drivers to use the safety belt as well as rear belt in case of taxi and other commuter vehicles. Addressing the event, Director General Lead Agency Mr. R. Venkat Ratnam informed that various activities were organized across the state during the Road Safety month, which included cycle/two-wheeler rallies, affixing retro-reflective tapes on transport vehicles, nukkad talks with drivers, awareness campaigns on seat belts and helmets and special drives against red light violations, over-speeding and drunk driving, cleaning roadside vegetation, installing road signage, medical/eye checkup camps for drivers and identification of accident-prone spots. Besides this, walkathons, poster making and quiz competitions, exhibitions and lectures on road safety by NGOs and Road Safety experts were organized in collaboration with the School Education, Higher Education and Technical Education departments. On this occasion, workshop on "Identification and Rectification of Accident Black Spots and its impact" were held, wherein the Road Owning Departments such as NHAI, PWD (B&R), Local Government, Punjab Mandi Board presented compliance reports of initiative taken during this month. ADGP (Traffic) Mr. A.S. Rai, Traffic Advisor Punjab Mr. Navdeep Asija also addressed the gathering. About 400 First-Aid kits were distributed to the drivers to be kept in vehicles. These kits were sponsored by Mr. Kamal Garg, IAS, MD MILKFED.
(editor@dailyworld.in)