Gadkari Seeks CM Majhi’s Help To Save Lives As Odisha Launches ‘Come Home Safe’ Campaign

Bhubaneswar: ‘Come Home Safe’ campaign has been launched in Odisha, one of the states with high road fatalities, to promote safe driving practices among motorists.

It is the catchline of the state-level road safety week to be held till January 7, alongside the national road safety month. Various awareness drives on road safety and traffic rules will be conducted with different stakeholders during this period to bring down the number of accidents and related fatalities.

While assessing state’s road safety situation, including police, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja instructed both police personnel and regional transport officers to also strengthen their enforcement actions against traffic violators.

A campaign involving public figures and celebrities will also be launched to sensitise the public on road safety benefits and traffic laws.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has requested Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to convene a meeting of all collectors and SPs, and set district-wise targets for reducing road crash, which has emerged as the leading cause of death in the productive age group of 18 to 45 years.

“Road safety remains a high priority for the government. In conjunction with Road Safety Month, the ministry is also organizing the Sadak Suraksha Abhiyan with the theme ‘Parvaah’ (Care). Districts will be felicitated for achieving a significant reduction in road fatalities. I have accorded the highest priority to this issue, and I invite you to join me in helping save lives,” he wrote in the letter to the CM.

Gadkari stressed immediate treatment of common road engineering factors – gaps in medians, exposed objects, untreated intersections, lack of illumination, and school zones – contributing to road crashes. He also recommended appointing engineering colleges to conduct road engineering audits for major roads.

Odisha reported 16,287 deaths due to road accidents between 2021 and 2023, with 5,081 casualties being reported in 2021, 5,467 in 2022 and 5,739, the highest so far in a year, in 2023. On an average, 16 road deaths are reported every day in the state. The rate of severity (number of people killed per 100 accidents) is an alarming 47 per cent against the national average of 37 per cent. Two-wheeler users and pedestrians accounted for around 64 per cent of all road crash-related deaths in 2023.

Till May 2024, 2,657 people died in 5,360 accidents and 63 per cent of them succumbed to injuries for not wearing helmets.

To check road fatalities, Odisha has adopted a zero-tolerance against drinking and driving, over-speeding, wrong-side driving, and non-usage of safety gear, especially by two-wheeler users.