New Delhi, Dec 2 (UNI) The government on Monday admitted in the Rajya Sabha that despite implementation of the new Motor Vehicles Act, there has been no reduction in the number of deaths in road accidents.
In response to a question, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said black spots were causing most accidents. The government had sent two projects worth Rs 7,000 crore to the World Bank for approval so that the design of such places could be improved.
He said people were being made aware by schools, social organisations and many other means regarding the stringent laws related to traffic.
Praising the Tamil Nadu Government, Mr Gadkari said there has been a 29 per cent reduction in road accidents in the state. A letter has been sent to other state governments to work on the lines of Tamil Nadu.
Centres are being set up for training drivers in every district so that maximum information related to road safety can be given to drivers.
In response to another question, he said the Mumbai-Goa highway will be ready within a year. This four-lane road is being made of concrete. The speed of road construction was earlier two kilometres per day, which has now increased to 30 km a day.
He said there were problems in 26 projects related to road construction and efforts were being made to remove them. Road projects were being constructed in the national capital at a cost of Rs 50,000 crore.
The minister said the Dwarka Express highway was being constructed at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore. The completion of these projects would reduce pollution in the capital.
He also said that complaints were received about mobile phone conversations during the driving of the vehicle, due to which provision has been made for heavy penalty for violation of rules.
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