Pune: District collector Jitendra Dudi has instructed all departments related to road safety to jointly inspect accident-prone black spots across the district and submit detailed reports with short- and long-term remedial measures by June 29, as the administration intensifies efforts to curb fatalities.Dudi chaired a meeting of the district road safety committee on Monday. He said it should be a priority to reduce the number of deaths caused by road accidents in Pune city, Pimpri Chinchwad and rural parts of the district. He instructed officials from the police department, Regional Transport Office, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Public Works Department (PWD), Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and representatives of social organisations to undertake joint inspections of accident-prone locations and identify the contributing factors.The collector said all concerned departments should carry out detailed on-site inspections of black spots and make micro-level observations to suggest immediate and long-term interventions. A review meeting would be held shortly to assess the findings and decide on further action. “We will not tolerate any negligence to implement suggested measures,” Dudi said in the meeting.He called for stricter enforcement of traffic rules and said that stringent action should be taken against violators to improve road discipline. Dudi referred to the accident-prone Navale Bridge stretch on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway and told the NHAI to implement safety measures recommended earlier. He said funds would be made available for required works.He further told TOI that IIT Delhi was expected to submit their report soon on the matter.District superintendent of police Sandeep Gill said reducing road accidents remained a priority in line with Supreme Court directives. He suggested installing large awareness sign boards near toll plazas on national highways to alert motorists and improve safety.Gill said the district rural police would soon prepare and share a list of accident-prone locations. Based on the list, the police administration would organise joint inspections involving officials from all concerned departments. He said violation of rules remained a principal cause of traffic congestion and accidents and that motorists must practise self-discipline on the roads.Officials from the transport department, PWD, police administration and social organisations also briefed the committee on the subject.
