Bhubaneswar: A total of 16,287 people lost their lives in road accidents in Odisha in the last three years, Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena told the Assembly on Friday.
Replying to a question raised by BJD MLA Chakramani Kanhar on road safety, the number of deaths and injuries in road accidents, and what efforts the State government is taking with regard to drunken driving cases, eliminating derelict and unfit vehicles, cases of driving without license and traffic management, the Minister said that 16,287 people died and 30,453 sustained varying degrees of injuries in road accidents in the state in the last three years.
He said that the Transport Department is issuing e-challans are issued to offenders for violating rules enlisted in the Motor Vehicles Act to prevent road accidents. Thirty-seven interceptors with speed detection radar and breath analysers have been deployed along the Rajpath to nab road ragers and stop drunken driving. Driving licenses of those found violating traffic guidelines are being suspended. In addition to these, stringent actions under Sections 181 and 192 of Motor Vehicles Act are being taken against owners of vehicles found violating traffic rules, the minister stated.
All police stations have been entrusted with powers to enforce traffic rules and take strict action against violators, as laid out in the guidelines. Traffic police are monitoring wearing of helmets while driving two-wheelers.
The minister further informed that there are five government driving training centers in the state and 5,195 persons have been granted driving license for heavy vehicles in the last two years.
