Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has called upon the public to strictly adhere to the road safety rules in order to bring down the risk of road accidents.
Inaugurating the state-level Road Safety Week observance here on Sunday, Mr. Chandy pointed out that unstinted cooperation must be provided to the rule enforcers by the public as part of their commitment towards the society. “It must be remembered that the risk of accidents, and the high rate of mortality and morbidity associated with road traffic injuries, can be brought down by adhering to the road safety rules. The wholehearted support of the public is necessary to achieve this goal.”
“Unfortunately, there have been many instances in the past when the initiatives of the State Government have met with resistance both by the media and the public in its quest to bring road accidents to a minimum by implementing strict measures. Very often, only the drawbacks that could occur during implementation are being singled out, thereby, negating the efforts made by the Government with positive intent,” he said.
He also said that the coordination between the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD), Police Department and Public Works Department was necessary in order to prevent he occurrence of mishaps on road.
Stringent mechanisms must be implemented by the MVD and the police to ensure that the road safety rules are abided to by motorists.
He stressed on the importance of encouraging the public in providing immediate assistances to those who have been injured in road mishaps.
Mr. Chandy also released a handbook on ‘Secure Society Project’ meant for the civic bodies in the state by presenting its first copy to District panchayat president Radha V. Nair.
Transport Minister V.S. Sivakumar chaired the inaugural function. He presented the first copy of ‘Safe Savari’ to Kottayam Municipal chairman Sunny Kalloor.
Finance Minister K.M. Mani delivered the keynote address. Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan inaugurated the seminar that was organised as part of the observance.
Jose K. Mani M.P., Mons Joseph, N. Jayaraj, both M.L.A.s, District Collector Mini Antony, Inspector-General of Police (Traffic) S. Gopinath, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) Executive Vice-President V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Health Service Director P.K. Jameela, State Transport Commissioner T.P. Sen Kumar, and Joint Transport Commissioner Alex Paul also participated in the programme.
