TFP Bureau, Raipur, January 7, 2026: As part of Road Safety Month 2026, the Chhattisgarh government has launched a comprehensive statewide campaign to promote road safety awareness and prevent accidents, in line with the guidelines of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. The initiative is being implemented under the guidance of the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police through the Inter-Departmental Lead Agency for Road Safety.
A series of daily public awareness programmes are being organised across the state, involving multiple departments and local administrations. Posters and banners prepared by the Lead Agency to spread awareness were formally released by Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Deo Sai and Transport Minister Shri Kedar Kashyap, underscoring the government’s commitment to safer roads.
Deputy Chief Minister Shri Vijay Sharma has appealed to all sarpanches and panchayat members to actively participate in preventing road accidents within their respective jurisdictions. He urged grassroots institutions to take ownership of road safety by encouraging responsible driving behaviour and identifying local accident-prone spots.
The Road Safety Month campaign was formally launched on January 1, 2026, with Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, Chairman of the Hon’ble Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, flagging off a helmet rally in Bemetara. The rally sent a strong message on the importance of helmet use and adherence to traffic rules.
High-level coordination meetings have also been held to strengthen implementation. On January 3, a divisional-level review meeting took place in Durg, attended by the Divisional Commissioner, Inspector General of Police, district collectors and superintendents of police from seven districts, along with officials from the Transport, Public Works, Urban Administration, Education, Excise and Health departments. Subsequently, on January 5, a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Shri Vikasheel was held at the Mahanadi Bhavan Secretariat, where senior departmental secretaries were directed to work under a structured action plan to reduce road accidents.
Special focus has been placed on high-accident districts such as Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg. Coordinated strategies have been developed for these districts with clear instructions to significantly reduce accidents during 2026.
Officials noted that although the state recorded a decline in the road accident death rate in 2025 compared to the previous year, enforcement was intensified, with action taken against nearly 45 per cent more traffic rule violators—amounting to around nine lakh cases—and fines totalling approximately ₹39 crore collected. Public awareness initiatives have also contributed to an estimated three per cent reduction in the death rate, with 20 districts registering a decline in fatalities.
Efforts are now focused on reducing deaths in Raipur and 13 other districts, with the state setting an ambitious target of cutting road accident fatalities by at least 10 per cent this year. Measures include corrective engineering interventions, stricter enforcement and faster emergency response on accident-prone stretches.
Throughout Road Safety Month 2026, traffic police are conducting daily outreach activities to educate drivers and passengers on the importance of wearing helmets and seat belts, avoiding mobile phone use while driving, refraining from drunk or drug-impaired driving, and adhering to speed limits. Citizens following traffic rules are also being felicitated, reinforcing positive behaviour and collective responsibility towards road safety.
