ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Communications on Thursday launched the Pakistan National Road Safety Strategy (PNRSS) 2018-30 that aims to provide better facilities to commuters and cut the number of traffic accidents.

The strategy was unveiled by Minister of State for Communications Murad Saeed at a function.

The government hopes that by implementing the strategy, fatal accidents on major highways will rapidly decline.

“Road safety is a major public health issue in Pakistan. Every five minutes someone is killed or badly injured in a road traffic crash in Pakistan,” said Mr Saeed while addressing the ceremony. He added that the PNRSS had been devised by collaborating with UK-Aid and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

National Highway Authority clears encroachment areas

Federal Communications Secretary Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, National Highway Authority (NHA) Chairman Jawad Rafique Malik, Inspector General of National Highways and Motorways Police Allah Dino Khowaja, Assistant Chief National Transport Research Centre Shahbaz Latif Mirza, Punjab Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer, Pakistan DFID Head Economic Growth Group Ms Patricia, ADB Deputy Country Director Sunil Mitra, Pakistan Resident Mission Dr Rizwan Naseer and Director Roads Ministry of Communications Hameed Akhtar spoke at the event.

The minister said that the government was determined to put the country on the fast track to development. “Pakistan’s rapid economic growth and expanding road infrastructure create an opportunity to significantly improve safety through better roads, slower travel speeds, safer vehicles and greater awareness, as well as ensuring all commuters comply with regulations.”

Mr Saeed said Pakistan’s geographical position placed it at the heart of the regional road transport growth. However, he stressed that improvements in mobility must not be made at the expense of safety.

“The strategy sets out a national framework of road safety goals, objectives and action areas for interventions to improve performance on key risk factors and meet specific targets. Road safety is a shared societal responsibility. We must all do more to protect our communities from death and grievous injury,” he added.

Earlier, the other speakers said that the strategy was built on the foundation of the first national road safety plan for motorways and national highways 2017-18 and broadened the scope to address all road networks and all road user groups in Pakistan.

The strategy, they claimed, laid out a long-term road safety vision for Pakistan and suggested practical, evidence-based actions to improve safety on national, provincial and local roads.

NHA regains land

The National Highway Authority moved against 3,131 encroachment areas in various parts of the country; 2,157 positions have been cleared while 178 kanals of land has been restored. The total value is estimated to be worth Rs1.288 billion.

According to details, 334 locations in Dera Ismail Khan, 20 in Hyderabad, 59 in Multan, 99 in Bahawalpur, 495 in Rahim Yar Khan, 100 in Bat Khela, 42 in Wazirabad, 197 in Lahore and 811 locations in Rawalpindi and Islamabad-Murree Dual Carriageway have been recaptured.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018