Noida: District magistrate Medha Roopam on Tuesday directed officials to install by Feb 25 speed breakers, signage, traffic signals and CCTV cameras at over 150 accident-prone spots as a part of short-term corrective measures.Chairing the road safety and zero-fatality district (ZFD) review meeting on Tuesday, Roopam said officials must adhere to the prescribed engineering norms. “There will be zero tolerance for delay or negligence, and accountability will be fixed department-wise,” she said.The directive is part of Noida’s plan to enforce Zero-Fatality District (ZFD) programme rolled out by UP in 20 high-risk districts, that aims to halve road crash deaths by 2030. In Noida, 152 critical crash-prone points, including Noida bypass flyover near Sector 23, Sector 78 main road near Aditya Urban Casa, Dadri main road near Surajpur roundabout, Taj Highway near Tigri roundabout, Bhardwaj road near Sector 68, were identified in Nov last year by the administration and police teams, with the district road safety committee tasked to fix them through phased short-, medium- and long-term measures.These locations are separate from the 35 accident black spots, which are critical stretches identified using the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) where high rates of accidents are recorded. Mahamaya Flyover, Gijhor traffic intersection, Sector 62 roundabout near Fortis Hospital, Chaar Murti Chowk, Zero Point on Yamuna Expressway, Sector 14A gate near Chilla border, Sector 21/25 cut, Chaprola cut on NH-91, and Chipyana cut on NH24 are among the black spots in the city. Under the existing system, a 500-m stretch is categorised as a black spot if there have been either five or more accidents involving fatalities or grievous injuries, or 10 deaths within a 3-year period. Roopam told TOI that once short-term steps are in place, departments will shift focus to road engineering fixes such as flyovers, road widening, and corrections to culverts and U-turns, alongside stricter traffic enforcement and faster on-spot emergency response. “A meaningful reduction in road deaths is possible only through strict implementation of the 4E model—education, enforcement, engineering and emergency care,” the DM said, calling for inter-departmental convergence in line with state and national targets.She also directed officials to widely publicise the cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims, which offers up to Rs 1.5 lakh at empanelled hospitals, and ensure immediate care without delays. On school transport safety, Roopam ordered intensive fitness checks, mandatory CCTV and GPS installation, trained drivers and staff, and regular health screening. She also flagged the repeated absence of senior Authority and police officials, insisting on senior-level participation at the next review meeting.
