Odisha To Engage Retired Engineers, Police Officers To Study Road Mishaps

Bhubaneswar: As part of its efforts to check road mishaps in the state, the Odisha government plans to engage retired engineers and police officers for a thorough analysis regarding the exact cause of every road accident, reports said.

With the state witnessing a spurt in road mishaps in recent years, former engineers and police officers would be empanelled by the government for carrying out inspection at road accident sites and conduct scientific examinations to ascertain the exact reasons behind these incidents.

The proposed drive assumes significance as road accidents claimed as many as 25,257 lives in the state in the last five years, according to official data. As many as 4,947 people lost their lives in road accidents by unidentified vehicles during the period.

After the government is ready with the empanelment, the retired officials will conduc joint inspection of different accident sites and submit detailed reports to enable the administration to take remedial measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, sources said.

Applications have already been invited from the retired engineers and officers by the Odisha Road Safety Society under the State Transport Authority (STA) for the empanelment.

Civil engineers, who have retired from the rank of assistant executive engineer or equivalent and worked in the government institutions, Public Sector Undertakings or their subordinate offices in the field of road construction and road safety, are eligible for  empanelment, they said.

Also eligible to apply for empanelment are serving faculty members of Government engineering colleges, IITs, NITs and research institutes who have worked, consulted and associated with road construction, road accidents and road safety consultancy works.

Retired police officers not below the rank of police inspector are eligible to apply for the empanelment.

The exercise of inspecting mishap spots and analyzing various aspects to ascertain the exact cause will play a major role in formulating and implementing preventive measures against road accidents.