Shimla: The World Bank has approved a grant of Rs 51 crore to Shimla and Nurpur police districts in Himachal Pradesh. The money is to set up an integrated road safety enforcement system and develop the Palampur-Sheela Chowk in Kangra called a 'safe corridor'.
Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Kundu said that over the years the number of accidents in Himachal Pradesh has reduced. It was 3,114 in 2017 and it is 2,600 in 2022. "We have worked very hard to reduce road accidents in Himachal, and emerged as a role model not only for hill states but all over the world," said the official to PTI.
The new project will establish a traffic enforcement control room in Shimla. The grant will also be used to get interceptors, patrol vehicles, an intelligent traffic management system, artificial intelligence (AI) cameras, and rescue equipment. Rs 42 crore will be spent on the first phase to strengthen the emergency response systems of the police districts.
Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Sandeep Dhawal said the department has identified 120 locations in Shimla - including Theog, Rampur, Rohru, Kumarsain, Kotkhai, Nerva, Jubbal, Chopal, and Sunni - to install AI cameras. These sites were identified after analysing the crash data from the past few years, site visits, a survey of existing resources, identification of black spots, and checking accident-prone stretches.
The Palampur-Sheela Chowk stretch of road in the Kangra district has been chosen to be developed under the Safe Corridor Demonstration Programme (SCDP). Safety interventions and design improvement worth Rs 9 crore will be done here.