Jammu: Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, today remarked that traffic management has become technology-driven and necessary technological interventions are the need of the hour for effective traffic management and road safety measures across Jammu and Kashmir.
The Advisor made these comments while chairing the 9th meeting of the J&K Road Safety Council (RSC) at Civil Secretariat here.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, PWD, Shailendra Kumar; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar; Secretary, Transport department, Prasanna Ramaswamy G; Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Bhupinder Kumar; Transport Commissioner, J&K, Rahul Sharma; Commissioner, JMC, Rahul Yadav; IGP, Traffic J&K, Vikramjit Singh; Director General Budget, Chairperson PCB, VC JDA, Director Health Jammu, Chief Engineer PMGSY, RTO Jammu/Kashmir, SSP Traffic Jammu, SSP Traffic city Srinagar, representatives of NHAI, NHIDCL, BEACON, SDA and other concerned agencies both in person and through video conferencing, an official press release informed.
Addressing the officers, Advisor Bhatnagar impressed upon them to identify the factors contributing to road accidents so that measures are taken to ensure that the occurrence of accidents is contained to the maximum possible extent.
He also urged the officers to identify critical black spots on highways as well as other roads immediately and rectify them on a priority basis.
Highlighting that the Traffic department has a vital role in ensuring road safety, Bhatnagar asked the officers of the department that enforcement of safety laws needs to be implemented in true spirit and necessary improvements should be taken in establishing an effective response system for accident management.
The Advisor further asked the officers that an in-depth analysis of data obtained through Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), Road Accident Data Management System (RADMS), and Integrated Road Accident Database (I-RAD) should be done as it will help in devising safety interventions and help in analyzing the causes of crashes.
Calling for augmentation and upgrading of the traffic department, the Advisor enjoined upon the officers that the traffic policemen should be trained and necessary equipment should be provided to them so that they can perform their duties effectively and efficiently.
Reviewing the ongoing projects of the Traffic department, Advisor Bhatnagar stressed upon the concerned officers to gear up the utilization of funds meant for necessary procurement for different equipment for road safety measures. He asked them that the procured vehicles and other equipment like patrolling vehicles, motorcycles, mobile interceptors, cranes, high-tech cameras, and others should be deployed at the required places.
The Advisor further asked the Police and Transport departments to make concrete plans for creating awareness among people regarding road safety by involving schools and colleges as well as other institutions.
He asked them to double their efforts for making both Institute of Driving Training & Research (IDTR) and Inspection & Certification Centre (ICC) at Jammu functional till July this year and accelerate the same for Kashmir by working closely with the divisional administration there.
Moreover, the Advisor also concerned officers about the status of trauma centres on national highways, installation of Intelligent Traffic Lights System, removal of encroachments, erection of crash barriers, and fixing of road signages as and where required.
He asked them to work out the requirements of additional manpower for manning traffic on roads and directed the Police department to make necessary arrangements to meet them.
During the meeting, the RSC made some significant decisions for effective traffic management as well as other road safety measures.
The RSC during the meeting approved the purchase of Breathe Alcohol Analyzers at the cost Rs 17.30 lakhs and the procurement of first responder kits for traffic police vehicles at the cost Rs 4 lakhs. The RSC also approved an amount of Rs 5 crores for rectification of black spots by installing crash barriers, sign boards, signages, parapets, etc., besides an amount of Rs 6.30 lakhs was also approved for one-day basic life support training for police personnel.
