Odisha government to set up truck terminals on THESE locations to prevent road accidents

Road accidents have been a major concern in the country and have garnered even more attention from the authorities after Cyrus Mistry’s death. States along with the central government have been working relentlessly to find ways to curb accidents. Hence, taking a step forward, and curb road fatalities caused by unruly parking of heavy vehicles, the Odisha government is going to set up truck terminals along the national and state highways. Until now, the State transport department has identified six locations in Sundergarh, Balasore, Kendrapara, Angul, Bhadrak, and Nabarangpur districts for the construction of truck terminals in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The core objectives of developing the integrated truck terminals are to reduce accidents and fatalities due to parking, to make the best use and effective utilisation of resources, and prevent encroachments, said Lalmohan Sethi, Additional Commissioner, Transport (Road Safety). In 2021, out of 5,081 accident fatalities, nearly 25 percent were due to collision of vehicles with illegally parked trucks on the highways, he said.

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"With an emphasis on eradicating such accidents, the State Transport Authority (STA) has decided to construct truck terminals to streamline vehicle parking and movement on the highways," said Sethi.

The terminals will have warehouses and cold storage facilities, a petrol bunk, a restaurant, a weighing bridge, a loading and unloading area, a dormitory, toilets and washrooms, ATMs, a health clinic, and other facilities, he informed.

The six identified locations will also generate revenues from commercial establishments developed on the PPP model. The STA has invited tenders from various local, national, and international developers who are well conversant with the development of integrated truck terminals in PPP mode.

Recently, Union Minister for Roads, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari pointed out that one important problem is that there's no fear of the law among some sort of people, which has led to an increase in accidents. Further, the Minister stated that people should obey rules as the Ministry aims to reduce accidents by 50 percent. 

(With inputs from IANS)