AGARTALA: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has ordered law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation of liquor shops located within 100 meters of national highways to curb fatal road accidents caused by drunk driving.
The chief minister said that the state government would subsequently implement measures to relocate these establishments.
In December 2017, the Supreme Court banned the sale of liquor within 500 meters of the outer edge of national and state highways and the limit was reduced to 220 metres for locations with a population of 20,000 or less.
During a programme on road safety in Agartala, CM Saha said that the state recorded as many as 1,340 deaths and 3,724 injuries in a total of 3,307 road accidents since 2018.
“Although the number of road accidents seems less in the state compared to the number of vehicles (7,87,203), police and other law enforcement agencies must work to reduce fatal road mishaps,” he said.
He further added that law enforcement agencies should prepare a list of the liquor shops operating within 100 metres of the outer edge of the national highways as drunken driving is one of the reasons that leads to fatal road accidents.
CM Saha instructed the police to make wearing seat belts mandatory while driving as the state is yet to implement it.
The state witnesses 700 to 750 road accidents each year while 200 to 250 deaths of people are reported annually.
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Out of the 7, 87,203 vehicles, there are over five lakh two-wheelers plying the roads.
The Chief Minister said that most of the deaths in road accidents are more or less due to not wearing helmets.
He said that though the state has been using modern and latest equipment to reduce the number of road accidents, awareness is the key to address the issue.
