**Agartala, October 1:** The Tripura State Road Safety Council on Wednesday stressed coordinated efforts among government agencies, stricter enforcement of traffic rules and greater public awareness to reduce road accidents and improve the safety of commuters and pedestrians.
Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury chaired the 18th meeting of the Council at the Secretariat, which was attended by senior officials from several departments.
Secretaries of Health, Public Works, Finance, and Revenue and Disaster Management, along with Additional and Joint Secretaries of the Transport Department, participated in the meeting.
The Director of Higher Education and Superintendent of Traffic Police were also present, while District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police from all eight districts joined the deliberations virtually.
Chowdhury said administrative measures and enforcement alone could not ensure road safety and called for greater public awareness and responsible behaviour among road users.
He emphasised the importance of discipline and collective responsibility in preventing accidents and protecting pedestrians and passengers.
“Safe Roads, Secure Lives—road safety is our shared responsibility,” the minister said, reiterating the Council’s guiding principle.
The meeting discussed strategies for preventing road accidents through improved coordination among departments and enforcement agencies.
Measures to strengthen the safety of pedestrians and passengers in urban and rural areas were also discussed, along with the need to reinforce traffic-rule enforcement and supplement it with sustained awareness campaigns.
Officials stressed that road safety initiatives required closer coordination between departments for effective implementation and monitoring, particularly at the district level.
The meeting called for an integrated approach combining improvements in road infrastructure with behavioural changes among motorists and other road users to reduce fatalities and injuries.
The deliberations also covered the importance of promoting compliance with basic safety measures such as wearing helmets, using seatbelts and observing speed limits.
Authorities also stressed the need to discourage driving under the influence of alcohol as part of efforts to prevent avoidable road accidents.
The Council is expected to use the recommendations emerging from the meeting to strengthen traffic enforcement, improve road safety infrastructure and encourage greater community participation in accident prevention.
The participation of officials from the administration, police, health, public works and other departments, along with representatives from all eight districts, underscored the multi-agency approach being adopted by the state to address road safety challenges.
