Commissioner of Police Shankabratha Bagchi, along with the families of road accident victims and NSS volunteers, pays tribute to those who lost their lives in road traffic accidents, at a programme organised as part of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at Dr. Y.V.S. Murthy Auditorium in AU campus in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak
Commissioner of Police Shankabratha Bagchi has announced that the city police will launch an exclusive ‘Road Traffic Accident Victim Assistance Cell’ to help the families of road traffic victims get compensation as soon as possible.
As a first step, the city police will start identifying the families of road accident victims who have been doing rounds to police stations and courts for compensation.
“We will come up with measures to help them. A dedicated cell, staff and a dedicated contact number will be created,” he said.
Mr. Bagchi participated in the ‘World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims’, which was organised at Dr. Y.V.S. Murthy Auditorium in the AU Campus here in the city on Sunday.
Mr. Bagchi said that the police would set a one-year target and make efforts to ensure that most of the victims’ families receive compensation.
The CP said that he has seen the suffering of the kin of accident victims, especially those who lost the bread-winner.
“Today, we are paying homage to the road accident victims. But the real homage is when their families get compensation and lead the rest of their life happily without any struggle,” he said.
AI-based detections
The police commissioner has also said that the city police will soon launch an AI-driven project. In this project, the CCTV cameras will automatically detect no-helmet cases and send e-challans to the violators.
“Our idea is to ensure everyone wears a helmet and is safe while driving. We do not intend to raise challans and collect money. Not just the driver, even pillion riders must wear a helmet for their safety,” he said, urging the public to follow road safety rules without fail.
Reduction in road accidents
Mr. Bagchi also said that after he issued instructions to ensure strict implementation of traffic rules from September 1, the number of fatal accidents has come down to 16 from 32, and the number of deaths has come down to 19 from 32.
“I have taken charge in July. Initially, I noticed that around 10% of motorists were wearing helmets. Now, around 50% of two-wheeler drivers are wearing helmets. Our goal is to see 100% of the motorists wear helmets,” he said.
The CP also said that in the city, pedestrians are most affected by road accidents. After pedestrians, two-wheeler deaths are more in number as many of them indulge in over-speeding and do not wear helmets.
Published – November 17, 2024 08:19 pm IST
