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Uttarakhand CM Reviews Road Safety Measures, Calls for Faster Emergency Response
At a review meeting in Dehradun, the CM directed departments to strengthen traffic management, reduce response time and improve road safety in hill regions.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday chaired a meeting of the State Road Safety Council at the Secretariat, directing departments to strengthen enforcement, improve emergency response systems and ensure greater coordination across agencies to reduce road accidents in the state.
During the review, the Chief Minister asked the transport and health departments to prepare a joint proposal enabling cashless treatment for accident victims not only under the Ayushman Bharat scheme but also in other empanelled hospitals. Officials were asked to examine ways to ensure quicker medical support in remote and high-risk areas, particularly in hill districts where access challenges often delay emergency care.
Dhami said police presence and strict checking should be increased along border routes and accident-prone stretches. He stressed the need for consistent monitoring in the hill regions, where difficult terrain and changing weather conditions frequently pose road safety challenges. To curb violations, he instructed departments to keep a check on vehicle overloading and carry out awareness drives reminding commuters of basic traffic rules.
The Chief Minister also advised authorities to make better use of modern technology for traffic management. Departments were told to explore AI-enabled monitoring systems and work toward automating traffic operations at the district level. He directed officials to prioritise the widening or improvement of identified black spots to reduce the risk of recurring accidents.
Ensuring cleaner and safer public transport hubs was another point of emphasis. Dhami said bus stations should maintain regular cleanliness and safety checks, and that enforcement against traffic violations must be carried out consistently. He added that the response time for shifting injured persons to hospitals should be kept as short as possible.
Officials were asked to give urgent attention to repairing roads in areas affected by heavy rainfall or landslides, particularly those experiencing high footfall or regular movement. The Chief Minister said districts should study well-performing initiatives in other regions and adopt them as best practices wherever feasible.
With the winter season and upcoming pilgrimage routes, including the Char Dham and Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra, the government has instructed agencies to enhance preparedness and avoid disruptions to traffic flow. Regular interdepartmental meetings involving transport, police and the public works department have also been recommended for close monitoring of ongoing measures.
