Garhwa: The District Road Safety Committee met at the Collectorate on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Pashupati Nath Mishra. Officials from the police, transport, roads, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and health departments, along with representatives of elected officials, attended.
District Transport Officer Gopi Oraon presented a review of action taken since the previous meeting and comparative accident figures. From January to September 2025, the district recorded 132 road accidents, resulting in 89 deaths and 90 injuries. During the same period in 2026, there were 188 accidents, 133 deaths and 150 injuries.
Expressing concern over the rise, Mishra said accident prevention required both safer infrastructure and greater public awareness of traffic rules. He directed officials to organise road-safety programmes in schools, colleges and ITIs, and to ensure that awareness campaigns reached the public effectively.
The Deputy Commissioner called for regular vehicle-checking drives, with particular attention to helmet use by two-wheeler riders and the use of seat belts. He asked the District Transport Officer to issue instructions to petrol pump operators not to sell fuel to two-wheeler riders without helmets, and to ensure compliance. Officials were also told to install safety measures—including signs, speed breakers, rumble strips and reflective markers—at road junctions and near schools.
Reviewing road construction and widening projects, Mishra directed the concerned executive engineers and construction agencies to complete the work on time and to prescribed standards. He said quality would not be compromised. The meeting also discussed urban traffic and waterlogging issues, as well as road damage caused by a leaking private pipeline near Thana More in Ranka market.
Mishra stressed the need to identify accident-prone locations, or black spots, and introduce targeted safety measures there. He instructed the Civil Surgeon, J.F. Kennedy, to ensure timely post-mortem reports in road accident cases so that causes could be analysed and corrective steps taken. Health centres were asked to maintain adequate ambulance services, while police stations—particularly those near highways—were told to keep first-aid kits and essential medicines available. Police personnel are also to receive first-aid training.
Police officials were directed to inspect accident-prone areas regularly and analyse the causes of crashes. The meeting called for wider public awareness of the National Highway helpline, 1033, and emergency number 112. Officials were also asked to continue enforcement against speeding, riding without helmets and underage driving under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The Education Department reported that private schools had been instructed to prevent overloading in school vehicles, deploy an attendant in each vehicle and comply with road-safety standards. Mishra asked school managements to monitor buses and autorickshaws used to transport students, counsel parents if overloading was found, and ensure that the transport department conducted surprise inspections.
The Deputy Commissioner appealed to residents to follow traffic rules and treat road safety as a shared responsibility. He directed the NHAI representative to ensure prominent display of helpline number 1033 along highways, and asked the district road-safety manager to coordinate awareness programmes in educational institutions.
Senior Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Yashodhara, representatives of the MP and MLAs, officials from the roads department and urban local bodies, and other committee members attended the meeting.
At The Garhwa Post, we believe journalism is both a public trust and a civic responsibility. Our mission is to provide accurate, independent, and insightful reporting that informs citizens, encourages meaningful dialogue, and strengthens democratic values. Every story we publish is guided by the principles of truth, fairness, and accountability, with a steadfast commitment to serving the public interest and amplifying voices that matter.