Currently, there is a severe cold wave. Fog and mist prevail. Although expressways have been built in India under the road development program, reports of accidents involving vehicles on these roads are constantly coming in.
The number of lives lost in these accidents is shocking. Recently, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari stated in Parliament that approximately 180,000 people die in road accidents every year.
The number of deaths is higher than the number of lives lost in any war or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, when these accidents occur on the roads, people or fellow travelers in vehicles often do not come forward to help the injured and take them to the hospital out of a sense of humanity.
At most, they film the incident and move on. The Punjab government has established a road safety force whose job is to provide immediate assistance to victims of such unfortunate incidents on the roads, transport them to medical facilities, and ensure that the victims receive timely medical attention.
As far as the general public is concerned, people are still hesitant to take the injured to the hospital, fearing legal complications.
Now, Nitin Gadkari has made an excellent announcement: those who take accident victims to the hospital will be called ‘Rahveer’ (Road Heroes). They will also receive a reward of Rs. 25,000 for each such humanitarian act.
Previously, the law stipulated that those who take victims to the hospital would not be subjected to extensive questioning.
They could even keep their identity secret if they wished. However, the announcement of their felicitation and reward indicates that humanity is being encouraged to help accident victims in the country.