To improve road safety, the West Bengal government on Tuesday announced a slew of measures including bringing in two new laws, marking dedicated corridors for buses and strict action against offenders.
After a meeting with senior ministers, transport department and police officials, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said a new law will be framed with the help of police and another by transport department for road safety.
Regional Transport Office (RTOs) will be removed gradually and replaced with a new state road safety authority whose chairman will be the state chief secretary.
Police, PWD, urban development and panchayat ministries will be members of the new body.
A bill on public safety and development will soon be brought in the assembly, Ms. Banerjee said.
The government has already been running a big ‘Safe Drive Safe Life’ campaign across the state to create awareness about road safety.
The chief minister said they have also decided to install speed guns, watch towers, CCTV cameras besides separate lanes for bikes and buses.
“A green corridor has already been constructed in Santragachi which proves that we can manage it within a small space also. It is now a model,” Ms. Banerjee said, adding that clean corridors will also be formed for emergency situations.
She cautioned that driving license of offenders may be cancelled if traffic rules are violated more than three times.
“Police will now be involved while issuing driving license. The process will now be online and videographed.
Driving schools are also less. So if needed, we will convert ITIs into driving schools to impart proper training to drivers,” the CM said. - PTI
