Collector T. Arun has called upon all departments to make coordinated efforts to remove roadside encroachments, including unauthorised advertisement boards on arterial roads to ensure free flow of traffic.
Chairing the District Road Safety Committee meeting here recently, Mr. Arun directed the officials to act tough against encroachments and carry out a special drive on all the major road stretches in the town to remove roadside encroachments in coordination with the police, municipalities and other line departments. The special drive will commence from Monday and will cover all arterial road stretches in Puducherry till May 21, he said.
The Committee hereafter will meet regularly in accordance with the directions of the Puducherry Government. He asked all the departments concerned to come out with plans to improve road safety along with the funds that would be required for the implementation of the same by the next meeting.
The meeting was attended by Senior Superintendents of Police of Law and Order, Traffic Police, Municipal Commissioners, Director of Women and Child Development, Executive Engineer of PWD, Deputy Directors of Health and Education Departments and representatives of various line departments.
According to a senior official, the meeting is being held to understand the challenges faced in terms of road safety and traffic management. The committee discussed various road safety measures that have to be implemented based on the prevailing situation. A presentation on the traffic violations and the shortcomings of signage, road marking and junction management in Puducherry was made by representatives from the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), New Delhi.
Mr. Arun directed the PWD to carry out marking of roads and erect reflectors and signage as per the standards at appropriate places. Marking of bus bays, accident prone areas and blind spots should also be taken up on all stretches, he said.
He asked the municipalities to earmark the parking zones in their jurisdiction. Bus stops on arterial roads should be notified by the Regional Transport Office in consultation with the traffic police, municipality and the PWD. The police should also ensure proper enforcement of the traffic rules.
The committee decided to map all the ambulances in the district, both under public and private sectors so that they can be accessed by one common category number. The committee has called upon the need to regulate ambulance services in a phased manner, categorisation of ambulances with A,B, H category and future implementation of the national ambulance code.
The Chairman also requested all departments to make appropriate use of NIRBHAYA funds to ensure safety of women and security in traffic and mobility-related issues. A preliminary meeting was held with the Development Commissioner and the Director General of Police and their views/suggestions to improve road safety were part of the deliberations.
