Govt to bring Bill for cashless treatment of accident victims

Concerned over the rising number of road accidents in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the government will soon bring a Road Transport and Safety Bill and introduce cashless treatment for victims of road accidents. However, the prime minister's Mann Ki Baat - his monthly radio broadcast - avoided any mention of politics or the logjam in Parliament. Hailing the armed forces on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Divas, Modi paid tributes to the farming community and praised scientists. He also said a team of officials will pay a week-long visit to the North-eastern states to understand the problems of the region.

Highlighting the recent incident of a road accident in the Capital, Modi said that it is the duty of every family to inform youngsters about the importance of road safety rules. "One is shocked to see the statistics of road accidents in the country, every four minutes a person dies in a road accident...Apart from the government, it is the duty of every family to inform the youngsters in the family about the importance of road safety rules," Modi said in the tenth edition of his Mann Ki Baat programme. The prime minister has also invited suggestions from the public which could form part of his Independence Day speech this year.

"Around one-third of those dying in road accidents are between 15 to 25 years of age...Keeping all this in mind, we want to bring the Road Transport and Safety Bill," the prime minister added. "The government is also planning other important measures like putting in place a National Road Safety Policy and Road Safety Action Plan. The government will also launch a project under which accident victims will receive cashless treatment for the first 50 hours after the accident", Modi said. The project will be launched in Gurgaon, Jaipur and Vadodara before being made implemented in Mumbai, Ranchi, Rungaon and Maurya national highways.

The recent report on accidental deaths during 2014, released by the National Crime Records Bureau, was a reminder to the gravity of the problem. Indian roads were at their deadliest in 2014 while claiming more than 16 lives every hour on average. Over 1.41 lakh people died in crashes, a three per cent increase in fatalities recorded in 2013.

Talking about the North-East, Modi said that under the 'Act East' policy of his government, officials of the Ministry of Development of North East Region (DONER) will go to the states of the region. "They will hold seven-day camps, talk to people and address their problems," he said.

Modi spoke about soldiers on the Kargil Vijay Divas, which is celebrated to mark India's victory against Pakistan in the three-month conflict in Kargil in 1999. Modi paid tributes to the armed forces and hailed their valour and sacrifices for the nation.

While talking about the success of the mygov portal launched on the same day a year ago, the prime minister said he received almost 2 crore hits and several important suggestions were being made by people through the website.