Assam govt to launch drive to check drunk, rash driving on New Year's Eve

Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 30 (ANI): Ahead of New Year's Eve and celebrations, the Assam government will launch a special drive to check on drunk and rash driving and ensure peaceful celebrations in the state.
Assam Transport Minister Parimal Suklabaidya told ANI that the state government will try its best to ensure zero accidents on New Year's Eve.
"Last year, the Assam Chief Minister had been patrolling streets on New Year's Eve. This time also, our department has been planning to do good for people's safety so that everyone can enjoy the New Year," said the Transport Minister.
"The state transport department, along with the police and excise departments, will work for 24 hours on December 31 in every district of the state. There are about 70,000 km of PWD roads and national highways in the state and it is not possible to check and vigil every corner. But we will vigil the points where there is excessive traffic congestion. We will try our best to ensure zero accidents on December 31," Parimal Suklabaidya said.
On the other hand, the Assam Transport Minister chaired the State Road Safety Council meeting at the Janata Bhawan in Guwahati on Saturday and discussed the implementation measures to lower the accidental figures in Assam.
The Assam Transport Minister said that the Path Suraksha App will be launched in January 2024.
The Minister also took stock of the measures taken by NHAI, NHIDCL, PWRD, and PWD (NH) for repairing the black spots, the installation of road signages and the maintenance and repair of vulnerable accident-prone roads across Assam.
He also reviewed the steps taken by the excise department to counter the illegal sale of liquor and drink-and-drive cases.
He appealed to the officials of the Education Department to organise various competitions, regular counselling, etc. to increase road safety awareness among the students.
He also directed the Transport Department officials to continue with the enforcement drives stringently to check on the speeding, no helmet, and drink and drive cases and ensure strict lawful action against the violators.
To mitigate the severity of road accidents, the Assam government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, procured 10 traffic interceptor vehicles, 150 breath analysers and 500 new UPI-enabled E-Challan machines.
Also, an amount of Rs 20.58 crore has been allocated to all District Road Safety Committees from the District Road Safety Fund to pour in more effort towards engineering, enforcement, education and emergency care.
According to the Assam Transport Department, from April to November this year, speeding cases have increased in the state by 158.72 per cent, 125.60 per cent increase in drunken driving cases compared to the previous year.
A total of 247742 offence cases, including other offences, were registered in 2022 (from April to November) in the state and this year the cases have jumped to 449122.
The state transport department has collected Rs 55 crore as a fine and penalty from offenders across the state this year. (ANI)