UP government sanctions Rs 125 crore special fund for road safety

BAREILLY: In an attempt to make Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) roads safer for commuters and minimize accidents across the state, the UP government has released a separate fund of Rs 125 crore under the road safety plan.

Speaking to TOI, Public Works Department (PWD) Bareilly division chief engineer Rakesh Rajwanshi said, “The government is dedicated towards making the roads across the state safer for vehicle users and for this purpose, efforts are being made to take appropriate measures to curb road mishaps. The state government for the first time has decided to invest around Rs 125 crore in making major district roads (MDRs), other district roads (ODRs) and rural roads across UP safe under PWD road safety plan. The amount under the road safety plan was sanctioned during the beginning of the financial year and work under the programme will commence soon.”

Explaining the plan, Rajwanshi added, “The PWD, under the plan, will be undertaking work of constructing safer roads. Installing cautionary/warning signs — (accident-prone area, sharp turn, speed limit) and informatory/direction sign boards — mentioning school ahead, among others, will be part of the plan. Besides, all the under-construction and under-maintenance roads will be undergoing road safety audit under which, quality of under-construction roads will be examined.”

Senior officials at UP’s PWD said that the funds will be used in putting up necessary sign boards on UP roads while giving identification to the black spots. As per the data provided by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Morth), the highest number of people killed in road accidents is in Delhi while Kanpur and Lucknow cities are witnessing maximum road accidents in UP.

UP government is focusing on making roads safer for commuters and to curb fatal road accidents, special trainings will be given to PWD engineers in Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), Delhi. Special recognition will be given to as many as 417 identified spots across the state besides installation of indicators and reflectors. Speed breakers, since have been resulting in road accidents, will be replaced by speed tables, under the road safety plan, said officials.

The chief engineer also said, “Around 140 PWD engineers will be given special training by CRRI where officials will be sensitized about ways using which, the department would be able to make commuting safe for road users.”