Road accidents down in Nellore: Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy

Nellore: Agriculture Minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said that the State government had purchased Rs 16.35 crore worth road safety equipment for the district to be utilised by the Police and Road Transport departments. The Minister launched the 29th Road Safety Week Celebrations at new ZP Hall here on Monday.

He said that the State government had sanctioned Rs 41 lakh to R & B and Rs 23 lakh to the Panchayat Raj departments from the Road Safety fund. Addressing the meeting, the Minister said that the rate of road accidents has gradually decreased in the district as police and road transport officials have implemented the rules strictly.

He appealed to the parents to create awareness among their children on safe driving practices. “As many as 1,489 accidents recorded and 495 persons have lost their lives in road accidents during 2016 in the district. 1,412 accidents were recorded, and 493 persons died in road accidents in 2017,” informed the Minister. “338 motorcyclists have lost their lives in road accidents,” he added.

He also said that majority of the road accidents took place only due to narrow roads. District SP PHD Ramakrishna said 50-55 persons have been losing their lives in road accidents due to negligent driving. “‘We had taken a special drive in the district and filed 6,000 cases against the commuters, who violated rules in the district during the last six months. Consequently, 35 pc of road accidents have reduced,” said the SP. Majority of the road accidents occurred between 3 pm and 9 pm, the SP added.

He informed that they had taken a special drive on drunk and drive and filed cases against 50 persons who had sentenced to 3-day jail. He appealed to the two-wheeler riders to wear helmets to prevent mishaps. Additional SP B Sarath Babu, Deputy Transport Commissioner T Sivaram Prasad and others were present.