Chhattisgarh orders stricter road safety measures amid rising accident fatalities

Amid growing concern over rising road fatalities across Chhattisgarh, chief secretary Vikas Sheel has directed officials to take “concrete and result-oriented” measures to curb accidents, with a sharp focus on fixing black spots, improving road conditions and enforcing safety norms strictly.

The directions came during a high-level road safety review meeting at Mantralaya on Tuesday late, held at a time when the state has witnessed a string of fatal accidents involving speeding heavy vehicles and poor road engineering.

Reviewing accident-prone stretches, the chief secretary instructed officials to regularly monitor identified black spots and immediately undertake corrective measures to prevent further mishaps. He asked officials of the national highways authority and PWD to work in coordination to improve road conditions and remove structural hazards contributing to accidents.

Vikas Sheel stressed that directions issued by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee on Road Safety must be followed in letter and spirit. He also reviewed implementation of the Centre’s SOP related to rescue operations during road accidents and instructed departments to ensure faster emergency response.

With electric mobility emerging as a parallel focus area, the chief secretary directed the transport department to speed up installation of EV charging stations under the PM e-Drive scheme. Officials informed the meeting that 150 EV charging stations have already been set up across the state and subsidies are being provided under the scheme.

Officials informed the meeting that 282 road accident victims have so far been registered for treatment under the cashless medical assistance initiative.