State further strengthens Road Safety Cell to curb accidents
Kolkata: The state Public Works Department (PWD) has reorganised its Road Safety Cell for providing even better infrastructure and road safety to all categories of road users and to minimise road accidents and fatalities.
The cell has been renamed as Road Safety Audit Cell of PWD and competent engineers experienced with design, construction and maintenance of roads have been integrated in the newly-constituted cell.
The cell will be headed by Chief Engineer (Planning) of PWD Roads Directorate who will also act as nodal officer for road safety issues pertaining to PWD. There will be four units in the new cell — Road Safety Audit Cell (RSAC) (Headquarters), RSAC (South Zone), RSAC (West Zone) and RSAC (North Zone).
The RSAC (headquarters) and each zone will hold at least one meeting each quarter separately under the chairmanship of Chief Engineer, Planning of PWD Roads Directorate of the respective zone. Chief Engineer, National Highway of PWD Roads Directorate and Chief Manager of West Bengal Highway Development Corporation Ltd has been asked to prepare Road Safety Annual Action Plan for the respective jurisdiction and update status of compliances of the directives of apex court committee on Road Safety and State Road Safety Council as given from time to time and send each quarterly reports to Chief Engineer (Planning) of PWD Roads Directorate at the end of each quarter and as and when required.
According to an official in the PWD, the Road Safety Cell was first constituted in December 2019 in compliance with the directives of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety and the State Road Safety Council with the objective to find safety concerns and take suitable corrective measures on the roads.
The cell since then has been guiding the different PWD divisions to identify safety hazards at black spots and take remedial measures to avoid repetitive accidents on such spots and general road safety measures at other vulnerable locations.
“The road safety environment has improved but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed us to further strengthen the Cell and hence we have done so,” the official said.
