The State has witnessed more than a twelve percent rise in road accident fatalities from January to October 2021 compared to the corresponding period of last year, said officials on Saturday.

The rising fatality graph has become a cause of concern given the fact that the Supreme Court had earlier directed the States to reduce the fatalities by 10% every year.

The Committee on Road Safety constituted by the Supreme Court is keeping a close tab on the road accident scenario in the State while suggesting ways and means to curb road accidents, they said.

A number of tragic accidents have occurred in the districts like Subarnapur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj resulting in the death of many people including minors and infants in the past week.

Except for six districts- Puri, Nayagarh, Koraput, Deogarh, Kendrapara, and Subarnapur- the remaining parts of the State are witnessing an increase in road accident deaths.

Concerned over the rise in fatalities in the recent past, the State government has in the meanwhile has directed the regional transport offices and police to intensify enforcement against the traffic rule violators with special emphasis on detection of overspeeding and roadside parking.

The principal secretary, commerce and transport department has issued orders for the constitution of joint enforcement squads in all 30 districts of the State for curbing the fatalities.

Over-speeding and negligent driving, drunken driving, use of mobile phones while driving, unregulated vehicular traffic, violation of road safety norms, and unauthorised roadside parking have all contributed to the rise in the number of road accident deaths, said official sources.

The government has initiated several measures to bring down the road accidents including deployment of interceptors with speed detection radar and breathe analyzers to detect drunken driving.

Speedy driving and all forms of traffic violations are strictly being intercepted. Retro-reflective tapes have been put in place along the accident-prone zones on the highways to reduce accidents. Meridian intersection points with solar-powered blinkers have also been installed on the highways as an accident control measures, they added.