Chandigarh, March 27: Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal has said that officers should work seriously to prevent road accidents. For this, he directed to repair the roads in a timely manner, control over-loading as well as completely check on over-speeding, making use of helmets and seat belts mandatory; setting them as priorities for the year 2021 so as to curb accidents. Along with this, directions were given to plan new roads seriously keeping future requirements in mind as well.

The Chief Minister was presiding over a meeting organized on issues related to road safety in Chandigarh today. In the meantime, Haryana Transport Minister, Sh. Mool Chand Sharma joined the meeting from Faridabad through video conferencing. Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of several departments were present and Deputy Commissioners, Additional Deputy Commissioners and District Transport Officers from all over the state attended the meeting through video conferencing as well.

The Chief Minister said that it should be ensured that there is a trauma centre within every 60 km of the main national highways in the state. Overloading of vehicles will not be tolerated under any circumstances. The Chief Minister said that accidents also happen in many places due to lack of repair of roads in time. In case the complaints on the HARPATH app are not resolved, it is very important to determine the accountability of the concerned officer.

The Chief Minister said that the smallest of details should be kept in mind while preparing the project for the new roads; the officers should include these in the Detailed Project Report itself. He said that it is often observed that only after a bypass has been made it is found that there is a requirement of under-passes and overbridges in some places. Instead of realizing this later, every requirement should be included in the project while planning. The Chief Minister gave the example of Sampla and Yamunanagar, where after the bypass was constructed, the need for underpass and flyover came into consideration which should have been included in the plan itself.

He said that just as survey is done every year for the collector rate, similarly road-mapping survey should also be conducted so that plans for the future can be made accordingly. The Chief Minister also gave directions to plan to give awards for the timely arrival of the ambulance and timely treatment to the people in case road accidents. During the review regarding the timely arrival of the ambulance in case of a road accident, he said that we have to protect the lives of the people in every situation. Therefore the ambulance should reach the accident site in the shortest possible time. He said that the vehicle that are to be included in the Police Department's Dial 112 scheme in a phased manner should also be used for this purpose. This vehicle is also fully equipped with all types of ambulance facilities.

During the meeting an annual account of accidents was also presented, while ways to control accidents was discussed in detail as well. It was informed that adequate training has been given to the officials of the departments concerned with the construction of roads. Discussions regarding determining of lane for vehicles according to speed took place as well. It was informed at the meeting that a plan has been made under which bus drivers will be made aware about this at roadways depots and truck drivers at dhabas. The Chief Minister also directed to hold meetings of the District Road Safety Councils on a regular basis so that continuous monitoring can be done at the district level as well.