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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla flagged off a car rally at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Sunday on the theme of Road Safety.
Apart from Members of Parliament, officers from defence and para-military forces, and people from different walks of life participated in the car rally. Speaking on the occasion, Birla observed that there has been an unprecedented increase in both the length and quality of the road network in the country. "Our highways and roads are increasing in number, length and quality. Historical changes have taken place in the socio-economic lives of the people through Mission Gati Shakti. On the other hand, the number of road accidents is increasing and the number of people losing their lives in road accidents is increasing which is a matter of grave concern," he said. Birla informed that more than 4 lakh accidents take place in our country every year and more than 1.5 lakh people die in these accidents every year. "If one year's road accident is assessed economically, the economic loss would be equal to about 1 per cent of our GDP. Therefore, road accidents are a loss to the family, society and the country," Birla added. Speaking on road safety, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that everyone knows the rules of traffic, rules related to walking on the road, but they do not follow them. "If we pay attention to small things, follow traffic rules, then we will be able to keep ourselves safe and also ensure safety to other people walking on the road," he said. Mentioning that engineering, enforcement, education and emergency care are the four pillars of road safety, Birla said that the most important thing in this direction is that the citizens should be aware of this subject. Governments can make rules but it is the responsibility of the public to follow them, emphasized Birla. "Road safety can be ensured only when all the people and civil society cooperate in this work supplementing the efforts being made by the government. For this, a comprehensive awareness, education and training campaign should be conducted and there should be active participation of citizens and social organisations," he said. "To ensure road safety, the mindset of the public, especially the youth, has to be changed," Birla added. He urged the people to follow the traffic rules and motivate others to follow the traffic rules as well. (ANI)
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