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Parliamentary standing committee recommends elevation of NHs to lower accidents
The committee headed by Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) MP V Vijayasai Reddy has also recommended the development of helicopter ambulance landing facilities at toll plazas across the country in a bid to enable urgent medical assistance to accident victims
New Delhi: The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on transport, tourism and culture has recommended raising the height of national highways, which could lower the incidents of stray cattle/wildlife roaming on the national highways. The committee made these recommendations considering the high number of crashes and fatalities on the national highways.
The committee headed by Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) MP V Vijayasai Reddy has also recommended the development of helicopter ambulance landing facilities at toll plazas across the country in a bid to enable urgent medical assistance to accident victims.
Responding to the recommendations, the ministry of road transport and highways of India (MoRTH) notified that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) were developing Wayside Amenities across national highways & expressways wherein a few WSA sites in Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Trans Rajasthan & Trans Haryana has the infrastructure provision for Helicopter landing facilities.
The ministry underlined in its response that the recommendation of the committee had been noted for implementation “as per feasibility.”
The committee in its report on ‘Issues relating to Road Sector’ has further recommended that the ministry examine the feasibility of raising the height of national highways, which the committee feels could lower the incidents of stray cattle/wildlife roaming on the national highways.
The committee while noting that it was “dismayed” that fencing/boundary wall to prevent wildlife/cattle is planned after several incidents of fatal accidents, has recommended formulating a mechanism to monitor the frequency of such incidents.
Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari last year said that the government intends to build helipads and drone landing facilities along national highways to deal with emergency situations.
Gadkari had also urged the chief ministers of all states to put up fences along the expressways and national highways to keep stray animals off roads. The Centre too has launched several projects to develop roads in the country and prevent accidents caused by cattle coming onto the highways.
“There should be some mechanism to monitor the frequency of incidents of wildlife/ cattle straying on roads even when the same has not caused any fatal accident yet, and proactive steps may be taken to curb the same,” the 325th report of the committee read.
According to the government, at 461,312, road accidents in 2022 rose by 12% and there has been an 11% increase in fatal accidents. A study also found that 69% of road accident victims are stray dogs, 21% are cattle, five per cent are Ox and five per cent are other animals.
The committee has further recommended the movement of special corridors for the movement of wildlife/cattle while calling for necessary actions and penalties on cattle/animal-rearers for letting out their animals on national highways.
