Awareness programmes key to road safety, says Koppal Deputy Commissioner

Creating awareness among the public is the most effective way to reduce road accidents, said Deputy Commissioner Suresh B. Itnal, calling for intensified efforts to promote road safety education across the district.

Presiding over a meeting of the District Road Safety Committee held at his office on Thursday, Mr. Itnal directed officials from the Transport Department, Police Department, and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) to jointly organise Road Safety Awareness Month programmes. He suggested that the Regional Transport Office (RTO) should collaborate with the Department of School Education and the Department of Pre-University Education to conduct awareness sessions in every school and college.

Mr. Itnal instructed the authorities to ensure that GPS devices are installed in all school and college buses, warning that vehicles found without them should be seized. Drivers must also be sensitised about student safety, and all educational institution buses and government vehicles should be properly inspected before issuing fitness certificates, he said.

He directed that potholes on national, State, and district highways, including flyovers and service roads, be filled immediately. The DC also ordered that CCTV cameras and streetlights be compulsorily installed at accident-prone “black spots” and along all major highways to improve visibility and surveillance.

“All streetlights, speed guns, and CCTV cameras already installed on highways must be maintained in working condition,” he said asking the concerned departments to ensure signboards and warning boards are placed at appropriate locations to guide road users.

Mr. Itnal also instructed officials to conduct a public awareness drive to ensure that both riders and pillion riders wear helmets and to remove encroachments on footpaths in busy city areas for pedestrian safety.

Speaking on the occasion, Superintendent of Police Ram L. Arasiddi said that strict action was being taken against motorists driving under the influence of alcohol, overspeeding, and violating traffic norms. He added that enforcement would be intensified to ensure helmet compliance among two-wheeler riders.

A team from IIT Madras made a presentation on the “Sanjay App”, developed to help the police and RTO officials carry out spot inspections and coordinate emergency response during road accidents.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Conservator of Forests Nirmala, District Urban Development Cell Project Director Manjunath Gundoor, Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department Hemant, Regional Transport Officer Prabhuswami Hiremath, Pre-University Education Deputy Director Jagadish, NHAI Assistant Executive Engineer Shridevi Doopad, and representatives from various departments and agencies.