Minister for Transport Ponnam Prabhakar called for the successful conduct of the National Road Safety Month celebrations in January, with the aim of completely reducing road accidents and preventing fatalities.

Ponnam Prabhakar, along with chief secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, special chief secretary Vikas Raj, and Transport commissioner Ilambarthi, held a video conference with district collectors at the Secretariat here on Saturday and discussed an action plan to be implemented during the National Road Safety Month celebrations.

The Minister stated that last year, a total of 25,934 road accidents occurred in Telangana, resulting in 7,949 deaths and it was identified that the main reasons for these accidents were reckless driving and driver negligence due to the violation of road rules.

Ponnam Prabhakar suggested that to prevent accidents, authorities should act strictly regarding road safety regulations and create awareness among the public about road safety rules and the National Road Safety Month.

During the meeting, the district collectors have been instructed to convene a meeting of the road safety committees formed in each district by the end of December. The district collector will chair the committee, with the Roads and Buildings (R&B) officer acting as the convener.  It has been suggested that officials from the transport department, RTC (Telangana State Road Transport Corporation), education department, police, traffic, and other departments should coordinate in this meeting.

The Minister also ordered the formation of Road Safety Force volunteer teams in every district, and instructed these teams to conduct awareness programmes in all villages and schools in collaboration with officials. These teams will be felicitated with certificates of appreciation on January 26.

He also suggested that district collectors take the initiative to establish Children's Traffic Awareness Parks in all districts to educate children about road safety rules in schools.

Ponnam Prabhakar further announced that  a scheme to encourage motorists who provide immediate assistance to road accident victims, through the Rahveer Good Samaritan Scheme, will soon be launched in Telangana state, offering a cash award of Rs.25,000.

The officials of the transport, police, RTC, and other departments were instructed to coordinate with each other to ensure that Ministers, MLAs, MLCs, IAS and IPS officers, RTA members, and the newly elected Gram Panchayat Sarpanches and ward members participate in the road safety awareness programme.

25,934 road accidents occurred in Telangana, resulting in 7,949 deaths and it was identified that the main reasons for these accidents were reckless driving and driver negligence due to the violation of road rules.

Ponnam Prabhakar Minister for Transport