UP unveils road safety policy, first in India

The Uttar Pradesh government Monday unveiled a State Road Safety Policy, aimed at minimizing deaths in road mishaps.

The government has also set up a Road Safety Fund of Rs.100 crore to improve the traffic system. Of this, Rs.50 crore would be contributed by the World Bank, officials informed.

Launching the policy, which is also the first by any state in the country, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said his government was very concerned about the rising number of casualties in road accidents and exhorted all stakeholders, including the health, transport, public works and the police department to make a combined effort to ensure more safety on roads in the state.

Last year alone, more than 1.40 lakh people perished in road accidents in the state.

The policy has been drafted with the help of the Bank and New Zealand. The High Commissioner of New Zealand in India, Graham Martin said serious efforts had been undertaken in his country to minimize road accidents, so much so that in the last 40 years road mishaps have come down by a whopping 70 percent.