Close X
Friday, December 13, 2024
ADVT 
India

Forced to hide face in global meets due to high number of road accidents: Nitin Gadkari

Darpan News Desk IANS, 12 Dec, 2024 02:09 PM
  • Forced to hide face in global meets due to high number of road accidents: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Without a social change and improvement in the behaviour of drivers, it is difficult to reduce the number of road accidents in the country, said Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday, adding that he is forced to “hide his face” in international meets due to the country’s poor record on road fatalities.

Replying to a question on road safety in Lok Sabha, Nitin Gadkari put the figure for annual road accident fatalities at 1.78 lahks, cautioning that road users should respect the law and a major change should come about in human behaviour to save lives on roads.

In a candid admission, the Minister said he aimed to bring down the number of accidents in the country by half when he joined the ministry but failed to do so as, despite the best of efforts, the number of accidents has risen over the years.

“I try to hide my face when I go to attend international conferences where there is a discussion on road accidents,” he said, referring to the country’s poor record on fatal accidents.

Claiming that 60 per cent of road accident victims are in the age group of 18-34 years, the Minister said Uttar Pradesh leads the chart among states with 23,000 road accident fatalities, followed by Tamil Nadu with over 18,000 deaths.

Delhi tops the list for cities with over 1,400 deaths, followed by Bengaluru with 915 deaths, he said.

Fatalities in road accidents from calendar year 2013 to 2022 stood at 15.02 lakh, said the minister, identifying the haphazard parking of trucks on roads as a major cause of accidents.

He said the Central Government annually publishes the report “Road Accidents in India” and, according to the 2022 report, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are the most vulnerable group, accounting for a large proportion of road traffic deaths.

In his reply, the Minister said road accidents are multi-causal phenomena and are the result of an interplay of various factors. These can broadly be categorised into - human error, road condition/environment and vehicular condition.

As per the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety, India is committed to reducing the number of road traffic deaths and injuries to 50 per cent by 2030. The declaration emphasises the importance of a holistic approach to road safety, including improving the design of roads and vehicles; enhancing laws and law enforcement; and providing timely and life-saving emergency care for the injured.

MORE India ARTICLES

Bad air: 106 shuttle buses, 60 extra Metro trips planned to make Delhiites give up cars

Bad air: 106 shuttle buses, 60 extra Metro trips planned to make Delhiites give up cars
As Delhi’s air became more toxic on Friday, restrictions on the movement of BS-III petrol and BS-IV four-wheelers, a stringent fine of Rs 20,000 and augmentation of public transport buses and additional Metro trips were announced by the AAP government with the imposition of stringent GRAP Stage-III provisions.

Bad air: 106 shuttle buses, 60 extra Metro trips planned to make Delhiites give up cars

PM Modi to leave on Nigeria, Brazil, Guyana visit tomorrow

PM Modi to leave on Nigeria, Brazil, Guyana visit tomorrow
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave on Saturday on a three-nation-visit to Nigeria, Brazil, and Guyana from November 16-21. While on his way to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Summit, PM Modi will first travel to Nigeria on a two-day visit - the first by an Indian PM in 17 years - starting Saturday at the invitation of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

PM Modi to leave on Nigeria, Brazil, Guyana visit tomorrow

Net worth of Central PSEs shot up by 82 pc in 9 years: Hardeep Puri

Net worth of Central PSEs shot up by 82 pc in 9 years: Hardeep Puri
Sharing key statistics to illustrate the remarkable performance, the minister said that the net worth of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) has increased by 82 per cent, from Rs 9.5 lakh crore in FY14 to Rs 17.33 lakh crore in FY23.

Net worth of Central PSEs shot up by 82 pc in 9 years: Hardeep Puri

Over 40 crore gold jewellery items hallmarked to date, 4 lakh per day: Centre

Over 40 crore gold jewellery items hallmarked to date, 4 lakh per  day: Centre
The government on Thursday informed that more than 40 crore gold jewellery items have been hallmarked to date -- over 4 lakh gold items being hallmarked per day. In the fourth phase, kicked off by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) from November 5, hallmarking centres have been set up at 18 additional districts under mandatory hallmarking.

Over 40 crore gold jewellery items hallmarked to date, 4 lakh per day: Centre

Ceiling of operation theatre at RG Kar collapses, no casualties

Ceiling of operation theatre at RG Kar collapses, no casualties
Tension broke out at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata after the ceiling of an operation theatre within the hospital premises collapsed on Thursday. Fortunately, there was no casualty or injury since the operation theatre concerned was inoperative when the ceiling collapse took place and no one was there within the room.

Ceiling of operation theatre at RG Kar collapses, no casualties

Akali Dal protests move to allocate land in Chandigarh to Haryana for new Assembly

Akali Dal protests move to allocate land in Chandigarh to Haryana for new Assembly
Punjab's opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday said any decision to allocate land to Haryana in Chandigarh would be unconstitutional as it would violate Article 3 of the Constitution, whereby the Parliament alone could change state boundaries. Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema, while urging Union Home Minister Amit Shah to rescind the decision, said it was in violation of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.

Akali Dal protests move to allocate land in Chandigarh to Haryana for new Assembly