Bhubaneswar: To create road safety awareness among the citizen, the Commerce and Transport Department of Odisha has declared the first week of January 2024 i.e. from 1-7January, as the Road Safety Week. The theme of this year’s Road safety week is “Sadak Surakhya – Parivar Rakhya”.
Minister Commerce and Transport Tukuni Sahu inaugurated the event at theExhibition area, KIIT Convention Centre, Bhubaneswar followed by a walkathon to the Driving Testing Track, Chandrashekharpur, Bhubaneswar.
Usha Padhee, Principal Secretary, Commerce & Transport, Amitabh Thakur, Transport Commissioner, Lalmohan Sethi, Additional Commissioner Transport (Road Safety), Pradeep Kumar Mohanty, Joint Commissioner Transport (Road Safety) along with other senior officials, students and general public were present during the inauguration ceremony.
Shri Thakur, Transport Commissioner started by wishing everyone a happy and safe new year and then emphasized the importance of road safety in our daily lives. He highlighted that the role of student in spreading road safety awareness among peers and family is very impactful.
Principal Secretary Shrimati Padhee added that the Transport Department has made its mission to sensitize all citizens about the importance of road safety. It is the responsibility of all the road users to follow the traffic rules which will ultimately ensure a safer road for everyone.
Minister stressed that road safety is not just limited to the safety of the individual, but it is connected to the safety of their family as well as other road users. It extends beyond mere duty and should be ashared responsibility among all road users.
During the Walkathon, a Road Safety Van was flagged off which will move throughout the district showcasing road safety short films to spread awareness on various road safety themes. A Standard Operating Procedure for Picnic Places was also unveiled during the event which details the roles& responsibilities of various stakeholders like bus owners &bus drivers going for picnic / pilgrimages, RTOs, Police, etc.
At the end, a vote of thanks was given by Lalmohan Sethi, ACT (Road Safety).