A project for Sabarimala pilgrims during the Makaravilakku festival designed by the Kerala government’s Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) that resulted in a 100% reduction in road fatalities was recognised among the top interventions from across the country for improving road safety.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the ‘Road Safety Good Practices in India’ report brought out jointly by the World Bank and NGO SaveLife Foundation. The report could serve as a repository of road safety solutions that can be utilised by different stakeholders across the country.
The annual pilgrimage season to visit Sabarimala temple from mid-November to end-January saw 16 deaths and 77 injuries in 2009-2010. As the temple can only be accessed by narrow roads on the hilly terrain of Pathanamthitta district, there would often be traffic congestion either due to road crashes or vehicle breakdowns. This would also further impact operations of emergency vehicles for rescue and relief efforts and servicing of stranded vehicles. According to the MVD, nearly four crore pilgrims travelled in 80 lakh vehicles in 2017-2018.
So, the MVD identified 382 km of roads leading to Sabarimala for the Safe Zone Project. The project resulted in 100% reduction in deaths or zero fatalities in 2020-2021. There was also a 90% reduction in injuries, which dropped from 77 to seven injuries during the 10-year period.
On the ground
The report identifies a slew of measures which resulted in the drastic impact. Key among them was deployment of personnel on the ground, which included 15 patrol teams of 45 officers from MVD with vehicles fitted with GPS, wireless, fire extinguishers, and safety devices. These measures ensured parking discipline and tended to vehicle pile-ups and crashes. They were also aided by three 24/7 control rooms with communication facilities.
Ambulance services are also ensured to provide emergency medical care. Vehicles are also provided breakdown assistance with the support of 300 people in 90 mechanical teams along with three mobile repair units with sufficient spares, five cranes and 50 recovery vans. Arrangements for supplying fuel to stranded vehicles were also made.
There were also awareness campaigns conducted among guruswamis and drivers with campaign material in six languages distributed at major check posts and toll booths.
The Sabarimala project is among the 13 “good practices” compiled in the report that have either been implemented in the past or are currently under implementation across various States in the country. To gather these practices, all the relevant stakeholders, including police, transport and health departments, of all 28 States and 8 Union Territories across the country were contacted through questionnaires, which was followed by secondary research.
The report recommends that such the Sabarimala project could potentially be replicated on other religious tourist circuits such as the Uttarakhand Char Dham Yatra that also witnesses a high number of road crash fatalities.
