Truck terminals alongside highways to curb mishaps in Odisha

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to curb highway accident fatalities brought on by unruly parking of heavy autos on the roads, Odisha Government has deliberate to arrange truck terminals alongside the nationwide and state highways.

The Transport division has requested the Collectors to establish a minimal of 10 acre land alongside the nationwide and state highways of their  districts for organising the terminals. Priority can be given to the districts which have larger unintended dying price. 

The terminals may have all facilities and providers like restrooms, dhabas, tyre and mechanical restore workshop, automobile serving facility, petrol pump and bogs. The goal is to open not less than six amenities inside two years.

In the primary section, Keonjhar, Angul, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Jajpur, Cuttack, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts have been chosen. Districts like Jajpur, Balasore, Ganjam, Sundargarh and Keonjhar have already recognized the land for this goal. 

Balasore district administration has recognized two locations having 10 acre land every, and Jajpur has recognized a land unfold over 5 acre.

Sources stated regardless that Jajpur district’s recognized land doesn’t meet the factors, it should have all of the required facilities for drivers and the heavy autos. The variety of autos can be restricted to 50 as soon as the terminal is open in Jajpur district.

The State Transport Authority (STA) stated out of 5,081 accident fatalities final 12 months, almost 25 per cent had been because of collision of autos with illegally parked vans on the highways.

With emphasis on eradicating such accidents, Transport Commissioner-cum-STA Chairman Arun Bothra has centered on provisioning of particular amenities to streamline automobile parking and motion on the highways, a senior STA official stated. 

The Transport division has requested the State authorities to nominate an OAS rank official to coordinate with district collectors, tehsildars and regional transport workplaces to hurry up the method of beginning the truck terminals.

“Each terminal will have the space to park at least 100 trucks. Once the terminals are open, we will be able to save 700 to 800 lives every year by curbing the road accident fatalities on the highways,” stated the officer.