"No Helmet, No Petrol" To Become Norm In Telangana

Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy today, during the launch of the 28th Road Safety Week, vowed to make Telangana an accident-free State.

Unveiling a logo and a poster of the Road Safety Week which is to be conducted from January 17 to 23, he urged people, especially the youth, to be cautious while driving vehicles.

Speaking to the media, Reddy said that efforts would be taken to create further awareness among the people on road safety. The Minister expressed his grief over the findings filed with a Supreme Court bench that road accidents kill 1.5 lakh people in the nation each month, and 7,000 from the State itself. Most of the victims were young people, he noted.

The Transport Minister also said that Hyderabad alone witnessed as many as 1,125 road accident deaths this month, while Mahbubnagar and Medak occupied latter positions in road fatalities.

The State government would strictly follow the directives of the Supreme Court and prioritize road safety and prevention of accidents.

A plan was on cards to conduct meetings with educational institutions and others to check the problem, he said.

As a prevention drive, the Minister pointed towards the "No helmet, no petrol" norm established in Adilabad and said that the results showed hope. He said that it was likely to become the norm in rest of Telangana as well.

He also said that they pressed into service traffic police and other staff to identify accident-prone spots, and immediate take preventive measures on national and State highways and on other roads.