Centre forms road safety and trauma care committees

Shimla, Sep 22 (UNI) Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T R Baalu today announced the constitution of two expert committees to look into the issues of ''trauma care for road accident victims'' and ''promotion of road safety'' in educational institutions through road safety clubs.

''The Centre has constituted these committees to provide trauma care centres for the accident victims on the national highways itself to bring down mortality rate, besides creating awareness on road safety,'' he said, while addressing mediapersons here.

Mr Baalu was in the town to chair the ninth meeting of the National Road Safety Council and 31st meeting of the Transport Development Council, which was taking place for the first time outside Delhi.

He said though the Centre was sanctioning only one trauma centre for each state, it had been decided to sanction two centres for the state keeping in view the difficult terrain.

While one centre would be opened at Rampur, the other would be opened at Nagrota Surian in Kangra district, he said.

The Union Minister said the committees would have representatives from transport, police and health departments, besides having a representative from an NGO engaged in road safety work, motor transport associations, confederations of transporters and other stake holders.

He expressed the hope that the recommendations from these committees would form the basis for a long term solution for saving the lives of road accident victims and inculcating road safety habits in the minds of the drivers.

The committees would submit their reports within a month of their constitution, he said.

UNI AS PS SP BD1753