Chhatrapur: There is no let-up in road mishaps in Ganjam district as two more trauma care centres will be established at Khallikote and Bhanjanagar in the southern district, apart from the existing one in Berhampur, a report said Saturday.
A fly-over bridge will also be constructed at Chhatrapur in the district to facilitate smooth passage of traffic on the highway and reduce mishaps in the district which has witnessed maximum road accidents in the state.
The matter came to the fore at a meeting of the district committee on road safety held in virtual mode, Friday. Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida presided over the meeting. Meanwhile, the contract for construction of a fly-over on the national highway has been awarded after floating of a tender and the works will start in October this year.
The Collector directed to finish the work within the deadline while also ordering installation of signages and street lights on Taptapani ghat road and Sanaghati road. The state government has sanctioned funds for construction of two new trauma care centres which will function side by side with the existing one at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.
In the meeting, the members decided to submit a proposal to the state government to increase the fleet of 108-ambulance service. The members also recommended strict enforcement of traffic rules in various areas of the district, and vigil and action against helmetless riding, driving sans seatbelt and drunk driving.
The Collector directed to take measures to reduce road accidents as well as the deaths arising out of the mishaps as per the recommendations of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety. However, to everyone’s disappointment, the recommendations made by the Collector or members of the road safety committee are not being implemented.
Reports said that Ganjam district has witnessed the maximum number of road accidents in recent times. The related death toll has seen a spike for the last few years. The Supreme Court Committee on road safety and the state Committee on road safety have expressed serious concern over the development.
The members alleged that Haldiapadar area on the outskirts of Berhampur has turned into a death trap due to frequent road accidents. The Haldiapadar area has two roads including one by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and another by Public Works Department (PWD). The faulty design of the national highway built by the NHAI is resulting in more road mishaps, it is alleged.
The Supreme Court committee visited Ganjam in February and took stock of accident-prone zones in the district and made suitable recommendations to reduce road accidents. The committee will again visit the district in August. The Collector had directed the Ganjam and Berhampur SPs as well as Ganjam and Bhanjanagar RTOs to identify the black spots on the highway and submit a report to him following which two separate teams formed by the SPs took stock of the matter and submitted a report in the meeting.
Ganjam SP Jagmohan Meena, his Berhampur counterpart Saravana Vivek M, Ganjam RTO Manas Ranjan Sahu, his Bhanjanagar counterpart Subhendu Ray, Ganjam MVI Rabindranath Jena and project director NHAI attended the meeting.
PNN