Tezpur’s District Road Safety Committee, under Additional District Commissioner, convened in August to assess the progress of its previous road‑safety directives. With 24 accidents including two fatalities recorded in July, the review targeted helmet enforcement, removing footpath encroachments, designating e‑rickshaw routes and fixing potholes near the Mission Chariali Flyover. Focus also turned to onboarding hospitals onto the iRAD platform and promoting the new Rah‑Veer scheme to reward Good Samaritans community.
During the session members immersed themselves in a detailed status update on the committee’s prior resolutions. Officers reported that a ‘No Helmet No Fuel’ enforcement protocol is now active district‑wide, requiring petrol stations to refuse service to unhelmeted riders—a move steered by municipal traffic authorities. Action has also begun on demarcating and reclaiming footpaths to alleviate pedestrian zone obstruction, aiming to free spaces where illegal parking and commercial encroachments endanger walkers. Regulation of e‑rickshaw services received renewed emphasis as the committee asked transport authorities to publish designated routes, licencing guidelines and enforce speed limits on urban stretches to decongest Tezpur’s core commercial zones. Meanwhile road engineers have been tasked with urgent maintenance of the flyover approaches, particularly patching key pothole clusters and improving camber to facilitate uninterrupted commuter flow.
A high‑value part of the discussion centred on digital safety infrastructure. All four major public hospitals in Sonitpur have now been integrated with the iRAD (Integrated Road Accident Database) platform, enabling live data transmission and streamlined emergency response coordination. The committee mandated the nomination of designated officers in remaining private clinics to facilitate district‑wide onboarding—a move viewed as essential to safer trauma handling. The meeting also endorsed the central government’s Rah‑Veer scheme, which offers a ₹25,000 award to individuals who assist accident victims within the golden hour by transporting them to a medical facility. The programme, protected under the Good Samaritan rules, was presented as both a civic incentive and a tool for instilling gender‑neutral, community‑centred emergency care.
Underlining sustainability, the committee acknowledged that smarter urban mobility enforcement, better healthcare linkages and grassroots awareness campaigns such as the child‑led Chota Cop initiative help reduce carbon intensity by preventing gridlock and speeding ambulance response. Education authorities confirmed ongoing traffic safety classes in schools to supplement these outreach efforts. With a sharp reduction noted from 42 accidents in May to 24 in July, including two fatalities, officials said the trajectory suggests promise. But they cautioned that only consistent execution across speed limit, helmet and encroachment rules will sustain progress. Discussions ended with a pledge to assemble civil society stakeholders and traffic NGOs into a quarterly review panel. The tone remained constructive, balancing urgency and equity, and steering Tezpur towards a safer and smarter future.
Also Read :Delhi‑Dehradun Expressway Set for October Launch
