Tripura CM calls for concerted efforts to drop accidents to zero

Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha on Monday said that while Tripura’s road accident rate is much lower than the national average, there should be no room for complacency and concerted efforts must be made to bring the number of road accidents down to zero by creating greater public awareness.

Addressing a high-level review meeting on National Road Safety Month 2025, organised by the Transport Department at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister said accidents occur more frequently at night, during early morning hours and in winter due to dense fog. 

He stressed the need to sensitise every family to prevent road mishaps. He also informed that initiatives have been taken to construct footpaths along roads in Agartala city to reduce accidents.

The Chief Minister said, more trauma centres will be set up across the state to save the lives of accident victims. He also emphasised training police and fire service personnel in first aid. Suggesting the adoption of the Gujarat model for road safety, he said the use of GPS systems, installation of CCTV cameras at all locations and proper vehicle speed monitoring is essential to prevent accidents.

He further directed the department to adopt a stricter approach in issuing driving licences. The Chief Minister noted that the Union government has directed that January be observed as an accident-free month and urged all stakeholders to make sincere efforts to ensure zero accidents during the period by increasing public vigilance.

Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, speaking at the meeting, discussed in detail the implementation of National Road Safety Month programmes and stressed the effective utilisation of the 16 ambulances available for assisting road accident victims.

Chief Secretary J.K. Sinha, Director General of Police Anurag, PWD Secretary Kiran Gitte, Finance Secretary Apurba Roy, Social Welfare and Social Education Secretary Tapas Roy, Urban Development Secretary Abhishek Singh and Transport Secretary Uttam Kumar Chakma also shared their views on various road safety measures.

Joint Transport Commissioner Pradip Sarkar and Traffic SP Kanta Jangir briefed the meeting on steps taken so far to prevent road accidents. Senior officials from various departments were present at the meeting.