The Hindu : Redesign highways to prevent accidents, says Governor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Redesign highways to prevent accidents, says Governor

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI April 7 . There should be radical changes in the designing of highways rather than looking mainly at the law enforcement authorities on the question of road safety. The Governor, P.S. Ramamohan Rao, also the patron-in-chief of the State branch of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS, TNB), said by redesigning both the national and the State highways to restrict the way people accessed them, accidents could be prevented.

In western countries, highways and roads were `punctured' at intervals to allow for people's movement but in India the highways passed through densely-populated villages and towns. Even the upcoming quadrilateral was being built on the same lines.

Along the bypass, towns sprang up and soon it became a part of the town. One way to prevent accidents was to fence the highways.

As someone who had been in the law enforcement department for four decades, the Governor knew that the law enforcers were the last to arrive on the scene of an accident but efforts could be made at preventing accidents. He suggested that memoranda could be prepared and presented asking for access to highways at 5 or 10 km intervals in rural areas and 2 km in urban areas.

Addressing a gathering of the IRCS, which celebrated the World Health Day today, the Governor said the society should concentrate on a few projects instead of spreading its resources.

The society could make immunisation efforts implemented by the State Government's Health department a success by reaching out to remote pockets and slums.

T.K. Shanmugasundaram, chairman and vice-president of the society, said road accidents, one of the major causes of death among children, ranked second from being ninth in the last decade. As child pedestrians contributed to 50-70 per cent of the deaths, he called for policy measures in law and enforcement.

Earlier, the Governor unveiled a bust of Jean Henry Dunant, a Swiss philanthropist who established the International Red Cross. Margarett Davidraj, principal, Bhakthavatsalam Vidhyashram, handed over a cheque for the maintenance of "Care and Share Medicare Project" for senior citizens while the Latter-Day Saint Charities donated an ambulance van for the programme, to the society. The Governor also inaugurated dental and ultra sound units on the premises.

Sarojini Varadappan, president of the society, said the theme for this year's Health Day was a healthy environment for children, by providing a pesticide, leaded gasoline-free atmosphere, clean water, toilets and ventilated rooms in schools.

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