Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today asked officials to finalise specifications for crash barriers to curb road accidents in hilly and difficult terrains.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari today asked National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), NHIDCL and the state governments to identify accident spots in difficult areas on war footing, an official told PTI.
Gadkari, who chaired a meeting of over 20 crash barrier makers, asked three officials to finalise specifications of different crash barriers so that a tender be floated for it.
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The move assumes importance as India accounts for as high as 5 lakh road accidents per annum in which 1.5 lakh people die and another 3 lakh are crippled.
Among the different categories of barriers displayed included "W beam type steel barriers, Thrie beam type steel barriers, concrete barriers, rope/wired steel barrier", the official said.
The need for barriers was felt at 'fatal accident spots' with retro-reflective tapes.
The Minister recently said, "I feel pained and helpless to see 1.5 lakh Indians, mostly youth, dying on roads. Not so many people die in war or terror attack or naxalite killing...Not even in epidemics... It gives me sleepless nights and I want to reduce accidents by at least 50 per cent as early as possible."
As part of the efforts to minimise accidents, 789 black spots have been identified across the country which recorded repeated accidents/fatalities and steps are being taken to rectify engineering defects at such spots at a cost of Rs 11,000 crore.
