Bhubaneswar: As many as 16,287 lives were lost in road accidents in last three years in Odisha, informed Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena in the Assembly today. 

Responding to a query by BJD MLA  Chakramani Kanhar on road safety, the number of deaths and injuries in road accidents, and what efforts the State government is taking with regard to drunken driving cases, eliminating derelict and unfit vehicles, cases of driving without license and traffic management, the Minister replied that in last three years, 16,287 people died and 30,453 sustained injuries in road mishaps.

In order to prevent road mishaps, e-challans are issued to offenders for violating rules enlisted in the Motor Vehicles Act. For road ragers and drunken driving, as many as 37 interceptors with speed detection radar and breath analysers have been deployed along the Rajpath while all those found violating traffic guidelines will have their driving licenses suspended. Further, stringent measures under Sections 181 and 192 of Motor Vehicles Act are taken against owners of vehicles found violating traffic rules, Jena stated. 

All police stations have been entrusted with powers to enforce traffic rules and take strict action against violators, as laid out in the guidelines. Besides, wearing of helmets while driving two-wheelers is being strictly monitored, apart from spreading traffic awareness among the public and fitting retro-reflective tapes on the rear end of private vehicles to check road raging incidents at night. 

The Minister further replied that there are five government driving training centres and 5195 persons have been granted driving license for heavy vehicles in last two years.