Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar today remarked that necessary technological interventions and advancements with effective enforcement are precursors to reduce the fatalities on the road.The Advisor made these comments while chairing the 7th meeting of J&K Road Safety Council (RSC) at Civil Secretariat here.Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo; Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Transport departments, Bipul Pathak; ADGP Traffic, T. Namgyal; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Secretary, Planning Development and Monitoring Department, IGP Kashmir, Commissioner SMC, Deputy Commissioners of Anantnag, Reasi, Jammu, Bandipora, Udhampur and Doda, Transport Commissioner, J&K, Director Health Services Kashmir, Director School Education Kashmir, Chief Engineer R&B, Kashmir, SSP Traffic Srinagar, SSP Traffic Rural, representatives of BRO and other concerned officers participated in the meeting in person and through virtual mode.Speaking on the occasion, Advisor Bhatnagar emphasized that the council should maintain coordination and synergy with all departments and agencies for prescribing and enforcing road safety standards and procedures as well as advising the government on Road Safety Policies which is the basic objective of establishing the RSC.The Advisor delved upon the officers that the Road Accident Data Management System (RADMS) should be used effectively as it provides onspot, standard and accurate accident data after any such mishap occurs. He asked them that the data obtained from RADMS should be collated and analyzed on a regular basis so that black spots and accidental road stretches are identified and rectified on a timely basis to reduce fatalities.
While emphasizing on the implementation of prescribed road safety measures, Advisor Bhatnagar stressed upon the officers for constant and effective coordination with district disaster management committees, Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs), organizations dealing with road safety management and other agencies to ensure better traffic management and road safety on the roads.The Advisor directed the Chief Engineer, R&B and other agencies to conduct safety audit of bridges and roads on critical stretches through Design Inspection and Quality Control, J&K, so that road accidents are mitigated and precious human lives are saved.Advisor Bhatnagar further asked the officers to explore the possibilities of constructing the over bridges and underpasses at critical junctions on highways, so that the pedestrian movement is facilitated and no loss of lives occurs due to that movement on highways. He directed the officers for effective implementation of the Road Accident Victim Fund.The Advisor also delved upon the officers for effective implementation of Intelligent Transport Management system (ITMS) for better traffic management on the roads besides regular awareness camps on road safety should be organized so that the general public as well as the stakeholders of transport are made aware about various traffic rules and regulations.Speaking on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo asked the officers to work out a plan for Basic Life Support (BLS) training of first responders and QRTs who reach out to the accidental spots at first so that they can provide basic life support to the injured accidental persons and can save the precious lives during ‘Golden Hour’ period.During the meeting, Action Taken Report on 6th J&K RSC meet was discussed in detail besides deliberations on other important agenda items like establishment of Institute of Driving, Training and Research (IDTR) at Jammu/Kashmir, establishment of Inspection and Certification Centre (ICC) at Samba/Srinagar, installation of GPS in commercial vehicles etc were also held.On the occasion, Transport Commissioner, J&K, through a presentation informed the Council about the progress and achievements made by the J&K RSC in implementing the Road Safety Policies across J&K.The Transport Commissioner informed the council that the RADMS software has already been established at Jammu and has been operationalized for better traffic management and analysis of road accidents. He also informed the meeting that under ITMS, intelligent traffic lights system has been established at 64 junctions in Jammu and 24 junctions in Srinagar.