Anantnag : A meeting of members of the District Road Safety Committee (DRSC) was on Saturday held here under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anantnag, Dr Basharat Qayoom.
At the outset, ARTO Anantnag briefed the chair about various road safety measures being taken in the district which include identification of black spots to prevent accidents, imposition of fine on violators and constitution of DRSC.
He also informed the chair about the agenda wise details of the work of the Road Safety Committee constituted in the district.
The DC directed the engineering wing to take corrective action on identified black spots. He said that awareness activities must be taken up in schools and adjacent areas through already constituted road safety clubs. He said that road safety signs must be erected near all educational institutions to ensure the safety of students.
He also directed the Chief Education Officer to share the location data of all institutions that fall on major roads with the Transport department, R&B and Urban Local Bodies for action in this matter.
The engineering wing informed the chair that black spots identified previously have been appropriately modified. They also apprised that signages have been erected throughout the district.
President, MC Anantnag, Er Hilal Shah also briefed the meeting regarding various measures taken for decongestion of Anantnag town. He said that several parking spots have been identified in the town.
He also informed that beautification and layout changes have been made in the general bus stand to reduce jams, besides a central verge was laid within the town to prevent erratic movement of vehicles.
The DC stressed on identification and positive interventions to reduce frequency of accidents in the district. He said that traffic, transport and health departments need to evolve an integrated plan to ensure that in case of an accident, all efforts must be made that medical help is provided to the victim within the golden hour.
The meeting was informed that 108 ambulance service and block based response teams are already constituted. The DC directed the CMO to share data on response time in all accidents that occurred last year.
He issued directions to ARTO and DSP traffic to start a drive against roadside parkings adding that adequate parking facilities have been made available in the district, penalties must be imposed on violators.
He also issued directions to the Chief Education Officer to inspect private schools and their transportation facilities. He said that fitness certificates of transportation vehicles of all such schools must be verified.
The DC made it clear that there shall be zero tolerance towards overloading. He said that especially in case of school buses, overloading endangers the life of students and heavy penalties must be imposed on violators as a preventive measure. He directed concerned people to submit a compliance report within a period of 15 days.
On the issue of introduction of e- Rickshaws, the chair said that routes must be finalized on priority. He said that shifting to less polluting sources of transport is environment friendly and reduces the burden on limited natural resources. He said that e-Rickshaws also provide potential for employment of youth and are also more affordable means of transport.
The meeting was attended by President MC Anantnag, Er Hilal Shah; CMO, CEO, Executive Engineers of R&B, DSP DAR Anantnag, ARTO, EOs of various Municipalities among others.
