New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday compared Road Accidents to COVID-19 and said on Tuesday that it is a bigger problem in this country than Pandemic. He said that there are 415 deaths daily due to road accidents in the country, which is the highest in the world. The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways said that India suffers a loss of 3.14 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) due to road accidents.
He said that to reduce this, more than 40 thousand kilometers of highway have been brought under the purview of safety audit. Most road accidents occur in India. Due to these, about 1.5 lakh people die every year, while more than 3.5 lakh people are injured.
He said, “Seventy percent of deaths are in the working-age group of 18 to 45 years. There are 415 deaths per day in road accidents in India. I would say that this scenario is much more serious than the Covid-19 epidemic. The situation is getting worse for us year after year. Unfortunately, we stand ahead of the US and China in road accidents in the world. As Transport Minister, I understand this and am serious about this. ”
Gadkari was speaking after inaugurating a webinar series organized by the India Chapter of the road safety body IRF on ‘Road Safety Challenges in India and Preparations for an Action Plan’. The Minister said that a road safety audit during various stages of construction seems to be the most appropriate way to reduce the factors responsible for the accident. He said that more than 40,000 km of highways have been brought under safety audit.
He said that road safety institutes like engineering colleges and IITs along with IRF can help the government in safety audits. Each engineering college can be given 300-500 km for safety audits with some financial support. Gadkari praised Tamil Nadu, saying that while other states were lagging behind on the road safety front, Tamil Nadu brought down road accidents by 38 percent and deaths by 54 percent.
The minister urged all states to implement the Tamil Nadu model. He said, “In India, 78 percent of road accident deaths are of two-wheeler riders, cyclists and pedestrians. Safety of such people is the main priority of the center. “
The minister sought the cooperation of all stakeholders to reduce road accident deaths by 50 percent by 2025 and expressed confidence of achieving it.
