Union Minister for road transport and highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari expressed his commitment to transforming Nagpur into an accident-free zone. He highlighted the collaborative efforts of the district collector, police commissioner, and rural SP in identifying accident-prone areas.
Addressing the Road Accident Sampling System India (RASSI) consortium meeting organized by JP Research in Nagpur on Wednesday virtually, Gadkari emphasized the people’s crucial contribution in the road safety ecosystem, observing that citizens often “neither respect nor fear the law”.
Gadkari said that he has urged the district collector, Vipin Itankar, to allocate funds from the District Planning and Development Council to identify black spots. According to MoRTH, a black spot is a road stretch of about 500 metres that meets specific accident criteria and has led to either five accidents resulting in serious injuries or deaths or 10 fatalities over the past three years.
Sharing his experience of being in an accident several years ago, Gadkari said the collector, police commissioner, SP rural, and NGO Save Life Foundation are collaborating to improve road safety.
Gadkari referred to a report, submitted by JPR to MoRTH, containing Nagpur-specific accident data and investigations. He highlighted the establishment of an Accident Resolution Committee in every district under the local MP’s purview, emphasizing the significance of the report’s findings from 550 crash investigations in urban and rural areas.
Regarding the recommendations concerning Mouda Bypass, Nagpur-Umrer Bypass, and black spot studies, Gadkari mentioned that they have been endorsed by NHAI and PWD. Although the report has not been made public, JPR’s CEO Pradeep Jaswani clarified that it is submitted exclusively to the authorities. Gadkari noted that the report on the Bhamni and Mhalgi Nagar intersection is still under review.
The meeting saw participation from law enforcement and transport department officials nationwide, as well as executives from the automotive industry. The agenda focused on road safety and research-driven solutions.
JPR president Jeya Padmanaban delivered the inaugural speech. Reji Mathai, director of the Automotive Research Association of India, underscored the role of forums like RASSI in advancing road safety.
