ADM Kangra Inaugurates Three-Day Training Programme
Dharamshala (Arvind Sharma), May 20
Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Kangra, Shilpi Bekta, emphasized the urgent need to raise public awareness to reduce road accidents across the country. Inaugurating a three-day training programme on road safety and transport hazard prevention at Cheliyan on Tuesday, she highlighted that over 1.5 lakh people die annually in road accidents in India, with a significant number of victims aged between 18 and 45 years.
ADM Bekta stressed the importance of placing traffic signboards at strategic locations and identifying accident-prone areas to prevent mishaps. “Road safety requires proactive planning, clear signage, and collaboration among departments,” she said.
The inaugural session featured expert lectures from leading academicians.
- Dr. Suryakant Sahdev, Professor at IIT Ropar, spoke on “Expectations and Work Rule Setting”, followed by an in-depth presentation on road safety leadership, policy integration, inter-departmental coordination, and national/state safety frameworks.
- Dr. Akshay Gupta, Professor at IIT (ISM), delivered a session on “Safety Design Considerations and Safety Measures for Mountain Roads”.
- Dr. Kaliprasanna Muduli, Research Fellow at IIT Roorkee, shared insights on “Using Safety Indicators for Improved Road Planning”.
The programme is being coordinated by Robin Kumar, Incharge of the District Emergency Operations Centre, and Kuldeep Singh, Training and Capacity Building Coordinator. Robin Kumar informed that the training will continue for the next two days, focusing on a wide range of topics related to road safety and transport risk mitigation.
Participants include representatives from the Police Department, Public Works Department, Jal Shakti Department, Home Guards, State Disaster Response Force, Block Development Offices, the Medical Department, engineering colleges, Inter-Agency District members, and Disaster Mitra volunteers.
The training aims to enhance the preparedness and coordination of all stakeholders to effectively reduce road-related hazards and improve public safety.