Jaipur, July 2 (IANS) Rajasthan Chief Secretary V. Srinivas on Thursday chaired a high-level review meeting at the Government Secretariat to assess the circumstances surrounding the recent fatal accident on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Dausa district.

Reviewing the findings of the state-level inspection team’s site visit and analysis, he described the tragedy as a wake-up call for all departments concerned and stressed the need for comprehensive corrective measures to prevent similar incidents.

“The loss of precious lives in road accidents is unacceptable. Our objective should be to continuously reduce accidents and fatalities and work towards the goal of zero road deaths,” the Chief Secretary said.

Srinivas directed officials to complete a thorough investigation into every aspect of the accident in coordination with transport authorities of other states. The inquiry will cover the sequence of events, the condition of the bus and trailer involved, vehicle registration, fitness certificates, insurance status, pending challans, and the backgrounds of the vehicle owners and drivers. Officials were also instructed to examine the bus body structure, fire safety aspects, the cause of the blaze, and the progress of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) investigation.

During the meeting, the Chief Secretary reviewed CCTV and PTZ camera footage from the accident site. He examined factors including trailer visibility, lane discipline, night-time visibility, the use of reflector tapes and lighting, route indicators, and signage at the trumpet interchange to ensure compliance with Indian Roads Congress (IRC) standards. He directed the installation of large, clearly visible signboards at adequate distances before curves on all national highways and instructed officials to improve lighting at identified black spots and other vulnerable stretches to enhance night-time visibility.

The Chief Secretary conducted a detailed review of the post-accident rescue and relief operations, assessing the response time of police, the NHAI control centre, ambulances, fire services and other emergency agencies.

He also reviewed the time taken to clear damaged vehicles, transport the injured to hospitals, the availability of trauma care facilities, geographical accessibility and post-accident medical management. He emphasised that reducing fatalities after an accident is as important as preventing accidents themselves. To strengthen emergency medical care, Srinivas directed that Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances deployed on national highways be upgraded to Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances in a phased manner, enabling critical care to be provided at the accident site itself.

He also called for a comprehensive action plan to ensure the availability of trauma centres, fire tenders, cranes and other emergency response resources at scientifically determined intervals along highways. The Chief Secretary ordered a state-wide special campaign to remove encroachments along national highways.

District Collectors, in their capacity as chairpersons of District Road Safety Task Forces, were instructed to regularly monitor highways, identify encroachments and illegal parking points, and ensure time-bound corrective action. Srinivas directed the Transport Department to launch a special drive to ensure that all heavy and commercial vehicles operating on national and state highways are fitted with mandatory reflector tapes. He instructed officials to take strict enforcement action, including issuing challans against vehicles violating reflector and other safety standards. Preventive action was also ordered against vehicles with a large number of pending challans on the Vahan portal. The Chief Secretary further directed transport authorities to hold regular meetings with transport unions and bus operators to ensure strict compliance with road safety regulations.

–IANS

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