- Sujal Pradhan, NET Correspondent, Sikkim
A Road Safety awareness programme kicked-off today in Sikkim at Yatayat Bhawan, with the state Transport Minister – Sanjeet Kharel in attendance.
Organized by the Transport Department, this Road Safety Awareness Programme will culminate on March 9.
The occasion was attended by PN Sherpa, Secretary of the Transport Department, as well as other authorities and representatives from taxi associations. Unlike last year, the State Road Safety Month will be observed in a low-key manner this year, and a digital awareness programme will also be held.
“We have been honouring National Road Safety Week up until now. However, we began observing National Road Safety Month last year. An intensive road safety awareness programme will be held in the coming month. He also stated that we are here to address an important topic, and that I feel we should mark road safety year rather than month, and that greater awareness should be promoted.” – said Minster Kharel.
He urged drivers to drive in good condition and with current insurance. People’s lives are in the hands of drivers, hence vehicles must be maintained. Also, there is a strong recommendation against using re-soled tyres because there have been numerous reports of tyre burst.
Meanwhile, the “15-year-old government vehicles would be demolished in Sikkim from March to April with the implementation of the Vehicle Scrapping Policy,” Secretary PN Sherpa told the gathering, and gave a quick overview of Pakyong’s forthcoming residential and sophisticated driving school.
He further stated that “in India, 53 accidents occurred in one hour and one death occurred in four minutes. Even though India has only a fraction of the world’s car population, it has a death rate of 11% in road accidents when compared globally.”