Highway amenities centres, to reduce accidents
With a view to reducing the rising number of road accidents and ensure road safety, the State Government has decided to develop roadside amenities centres in 12 places in the State in the first phase. The State Human Rights Commission has urged the completion of the projects in a time-bound manner.
The amenities would include parking lots, restaurant/snacks bar, toilet and rest room for drivers, rest rooms for passengers, telephone booth and internet kiosk, first aid, petrol pump, minor vehicle repair shops, spare part shops, ATMs and bank extension counters, tourist linked services, police post, budget hotels and landscaping with plantation at every 60-80 km intervals. They would be set up along the National Highways (NHs) and State Highways (SHs) for providing adequate rest and refreshment to the road users.
Due to absence of clearly identified parking place along the highways, heavy vehicles park on the road during the night time causing many accidents. According to the Motor Vehicle Act, the State Government should provide traffic aid posts and heavy vehicle parking complexes on the side of the SHs and NHs. The Government would provide the parking place to the vehicles along the roads keeping the problem in view.
These amenities centres would be developed in PPP mode wherein land will be provided by the State Government, while the developers for the projects will be decided through an open bidding process. During the first phase, Kacharamal (Phulanakhara) near Bhubaneswar, Chandikhole in Jajpur, Garavana near Sambalpur-Baragarh ,Rairakhole in Angul-Sambalpur, Lahunipada near Remuli-Rajmunda , Ghatagaon in Panikoili-Remuli Road, Basta in Baleswar-Laxman nath, Batagaon in Bhubaneswar-Puri Road, Barkote in Biramitrapur-Barkote road, Meramundali in Cuttack-Angul road, Soro in Bhadrak-Baleswar NH and Badatrilochanpur/Sunasahi of Panikoili in Chandikhol-Bhadrak NH would be taken up for setting up the amenities centres. The National HighwayAuthority of India has already started work at Soro. In the second phase, the centres would be set up in Koraput, Balangir, Malkangiri, Nuapada and places like Sunabeda, Potangi, Ambapani, Boriguma, Sundergada and Kesinga.
IIM Sambalpur
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