‘Walk for Safer Roads’ on World Day of Remembrance for road accident victims held in Panchkula
ANU(ChandigarhCityNews)
To mark the Day of Remembrance (WDR), for road accident victims, a walk for safer roads was held recently Sector-5 Panchkula. This was organized by well known non- profit organization Citizens Awareness Group along with Consumer VOICE, Delhi. The event saw the participation of social activists and prominent among them included Congress leader Ranjeeta Mehta, Consumer Federation Haryana, S K Nayyar and Sushma Khanna, Women Welafre Trust. The objective of the walk was to spread the awareness on WDR based on the theme of “2020 Target: Reduce Road Fatalities and Serious Injuries by 50%.” This annual event represents a significant opportunity to call attention to the road safety situation. The walk also aimed at demanding immediate passage of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill-2017.
While speaking on the occasion, Amarjeet Singh, Consumer VOICE said “About 1.3 million people die each year on the world’s roads and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries. Road traffic crashes are a major cause of death among all age groups and the leading cause of death among those aged 15–29 years. The road safety bill promised by the Government is yet to see the light of day. We are urging government to pass the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2017 in the next session of Parliament. “If this bill is further deferred, we will be putting at risk precious lives of citizens before the next session of the Parliament can adopt it”.
While sharing the fact sheet on Haryana, Surinder Verma, Chairman, Citizens Awareness Group said “.In the state of Haryana alone 11,234 road crashes, 10,531 injuries and 5,024 road fatalities took place in the year 2016 as per the report released by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). These casualties may include thousands of innocent children and youth into their productive years of life. This is a massacre on the roads. The passage of Bill is crucial in the upcoming session.”
As per the annual publication ‘Road Accidents in India-2016’ released by Ministry for Road Transport and Highways total 4,80,652 road accidents took place resulting into 1,50,785, road traffic deaths and 4,94,624 injuries in a year. Everyday-1,317 Accidents take place and 413 Persons are being killed on Indian Roads.
“India can achieve its commitment of reducing fatalities by 50% by the year 2020 through passage of MV (A) Bill 2017 and its proper implementation by state governments. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2017 has already been cleared by the Lok Sabha in last session and is under consideration with the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha”, informed Surinder Verma.
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