Bhubaneswar: The state-level celebrations of National Road Safety Month-2026 were inaugurated at Mahatma Gandhi Marg here today. Speaker of Odisha Assembly, Surama Padhy, inaugurated the event as the Chief Guest, calling for the expansion of road safety measures in the state.
Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena, emphasised that the state government has given top priority to road safety. “We have taken many steps based on the message of National Road Safety Month, ‘Education to Safety and Technology to Transformation’,” he said. Jena credited strict law enforcement, awareness campaigns, and the successful use of technology for the reduction in road accidents in the last few years.
Law and Excise Prithviraj Harichandan, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister, Gokulanand Mallick, and former Minister and senior leader, Manmohan Samal, also attended the event, stressing the importance of creating awareness in the field of road safety.
Eminent actor and MLA, Siddhant Mohapatra, Great International Sand Artist, Sudarshan Patnaik, and Eminent Social Worker, Dr. Shruti Mohapatra, were present as Road Safety Brand Ambassadors, urging the public to work towards reducing road accidents.
The event featured the launch of the “Aam Subahaka” scheme, aimed at empowering trained women to become self-reliant by providing interest-free loans for purchasing four-wheelers. Five beneficiaries of the scheme received car keys on the occasion.
Free kits were also provided to bus drivers to identify sleepiness and drunk driving, and a ‘Road Safety Bulletin Dashboard’ was prepared in partnership with IIT Madras. A QR-Vibrant Digital Bus Ticketing System, FASTicket, was also launched under the Odisha Yatri App.
The event concluded with a mass road safety pledge and a walk organised till Ram Mandir, where a wheelchair rugby team was honoured. Good samaritans were also felicitated near Shri Ram Mandir.
Usha Padhee, Principal Secretary, Commerce and Transport Department, highlighted the state government’s efforts in road safety, emphasising the importance of creating awareness among the public to reduce road accidents.
On this occasion, Mayor Sulochana Das, Bhubaneswar Ekamra MLA Babu Singh, Director General of Police Y.B. Khurania, Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur, and Police Commissioner Suresh Debdutt Singh.
