Toll-free number 1033 for road accident management services

The government today said it has alloted a toll-free number 1033 for road accident management services which can be accessed from any part of the country.
"National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) requested Department of Telecommunication for allotment of a toll free number. DoT alloted four digit short code '1033' for Road Accident Management Services," Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.
The toll-free service will be a mandatory service to be provided by all access service providers and will be accessed from anywhere in India, he said.

He said Indian Highway Management Company Limited (IHMCL), promoted by NHAI, is executing the project.
"Based on geographical contiguity, IHMCL structured the project under six zones," the Minister said, adding that work for West Zone has been awarded to Bharat BPO and Call Centre would be set up at Ahemadabad for Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
For South Zone, Bharat BPO will set up call centre at Mysore and states covered will include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Island, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

Apollo Samarth Dhuv JV will handle the work for Delhi Zone with call centre at Gurgaon. The states covered under it will include Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

For Chandigarh Zone, the Minister added the the call centre will be at Mohali with Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Chandigarh falling under it.
The development assumes significance as India accounts for about 5 lakh road accidents, one of the highest annually of which 1.5 lakh people lose their lives and anohter 3 lakh are crippled.