GUWAHATI, Sept 20 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off 20 vehicles for better road safety at a function held at the Assam Secretariat today. Of these vehicles, 13 were given to the Assam Police and seven to the transport department to sensitise the road safety mechanism.
According to an official press release, speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sonowal said, �We need to be careful to avert accidents as everybody has holidays, but road safety does not.� He said that in view of the increasing number of road accidents, people should be extra cautious to prevent them. He mooted the idea of innovative means of using sign postings and other road safety-related messages conspicuously on either side of the roads to catch the attention of the drivers and make them more attentive during driving.
He laid emphasis on inter-departmental synergy for generating awareness about road safety and averting road accidents. He said that road safety awareness meetings should be organised even at the gaon panchayat level for people�s awareness towards road safety and asked the transport and other line departments to take the lead in this regard.
It may be mentioned that the PWD (Roads) took the initiative in handing over the vehicles under the Assam State Roads Project to the police and transport departments, which will be adequately used for the purpose of road safety. The World Bank-funded project will subsequently be replicated in other areas of the State. State PWD Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, MLAs Terosh Gowala, Bimal Bora, Mrinal Saikia, Suman Haripriya, Chief Secretary Vinod Kumar Pipersenia, Additional Chief Secretary TY Das, PWD Commissioner Mohan Chandra Boro and a host of other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
