A meeting of the district level road safety committee and our bus stand nodal committee has been held under the chairmanship of District Collector Madhusudan Das in Nuapada headquarters meeting hall. District Chief Development Officer Lambodar Dharua, CDM and Dr. Dhaneshwar Sethi, Additional SP Ranjit Naik, Regional Transport Officer Sharmila Maharana, Vacancy Inspector Sanammitra Pradhan and others participated in it. In the beginning, the District Collector addressed everyone and said that we have to stop the precious lives lost in road accidents in the district. For this, we have to be aware and adopt different methods. In Nuapada city, many paddies and houses were submerged in rain, the District Magistrate expressed dissatisfaction and directed the officials to solve it quickly. No petrol (no helmet no petrol) checking will be done strictly. It will be supervised by all BDI Tahsildars and RTs. Special attention will be paid to minors and drunk drivers. RTO, Police Department and Unemployment Department will often conduct joint lane checking. Before Durga Puja, all drains will be cleaned and all pot holes repaired. Public awareness will be created and signage will be installed at the accident prone areas on the Biju Expressway. Special attention will be given to children in roadside schools. The review revealed that till September 2025, 84 drunken drivers and 3312 driving were stopped for driving two-wheelers without helmet. In August alone, 664 VCRs were stopped and 32 driving licenses were canceled and a total fine of Rs. 6 lakh 70 thousand was levied. The District Collector said that everyone has to be aware about this along with adopting a comprehensive program to prevent accidents in the district. It will include people’s representatives, voluntary organizations, women self help groups, students l Concrete roads will be built where the Biju Expressway passes and the speed of vehicles will be monitored by installing cameras on the road l All school buses will be thoroughly checked and fitness certificates will be issued l Then various proposals have been made to improve the transport sector and bus stands in the district. New route chart for our buses, compulsory entry of all buses plying day and night at Nuapada bus stand, deputation of women guards here for the safety of women passengers, charging of entry fee from private buses, surpriya checking in buses, management of shop houses, opening of canteen etc. were discussed in the meeting. MVI Upendra Kumar Pushika, PWD Division Co-Executive Engineer Sukant Kumar Gardia, DRM Jagdish Patnaik, NH Engineer Sapan Kumar Behera, CDV and Dr. Partha Sarthi Dora, Nuapada NAC Executive Officer Srinivas Mirdha, Khariar Road NAC Executive Officer Kamalasan Rath, Khariar NAC executive officer Swatchandan Ketan Maharana, DTM Akash Mahapatra, Jajinseni Mahapatra from Kadam, volunteer Vijay Kumar Rautharai were major participants.
Report by Biswanath Samal from Nuapada, Fast News Odisha