Renewing the ‘Come Home Safe vision’ mission, the Odisha’s Commerce & Transport Department on Friday announced the launch of the second phase of the Zero Accident Day campaign in mineral-rich Keonjhar district, the states’ major road accident-prone zone.
Keonjhar figures among the top 100 districts of India for Data-Driven Hyperlocal Interventions (DDHI) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and IIT Madras.
The ZAD initiative has already demonstrated encouraging results in Bhubaneswar where accident fatalities have shown a declining trend due to data-driven interventions and community participation, said an official.
The Government is now extending the campaign to Keonjhar with a targeted and comprehensive action plan. A high-level strategy meeting chaired by Secretary Usha Padhee and Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur, and attended by the Collector of Keonjhar, finalized the roadmap to reduce accidents and fatalities in the district.
The meeting brought together state nodal officers, the district administration, and technical experts from RBG Labs, IIT Madras, the Department’s technical consultant.
During the meeting, IIT Madras presented a 14-day decentralized, data-driven ZAD action plan focusing on targeted interventions at identified accident-prone areas.
As part of the campaign, a series of multi-layered initiatives will be rolled out across blocks and villages. These include community-level dialogues under the banner of “Cha Au Charcha” near accident-prone zones, training of Sahayaks and Raahveers as first responders, awareness sessions for school children to nurture them as future safe drivers, specialized training for drivers working in mining and industrial areas, and public messaging through All India Radio programs, among other activities designed to promote road safety awareness at scale.
In addition, a teaser campaign on Zero Accident Day will be launched at the earliest in Keonjhar to highlight the importance of the initiative and sensitize citizens about road safety as a collective responsibility.
With Keonjhar witnessing high volumes of heavy motor vehicle movement, the focus must now be on driving behavioural change through sustained awareness. Road safety is a shared responsibility, and the success of the campaign depends on collective participation and commitment, Secretary Padhee said.
Keonjhar reports a disproportionately high number of accidents and with targeted interventions and close coordination, the Government is determined to make a measurable impact, Transport Commissioner Thakur said.
Adding a technical perspective, Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian of RBG Labs, IIT Madras, highlighted that the integrated ZAD-DDHI approach combines technology, training, and empathy to address road safety comprehensively, and expressed confidence that Keonjhar can set an example for other regions.