Road Ministry to seek public comments on improve highways

The National Highways which has a share of only 2.1% of total road length accounted for the highest road accidents

With the complaints pouring in over road quality especially during and after the rainy season, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to upgrade Sukhad Yatra smartphone app to allow the public to share grievances about highway conditions.

As per the proposal, the person who posted a complaint about the road quality can also have an opportunity to post a message about whether the repair works are done or not.

The Ministry is also working on studying vehicular movement on highways to analyse whether the existing highway design helps the smooth movement of vehicles or needs any rectification.

After complaints of several road mishaps that happened due to poor quality of road and defects in design, the Ministry is taking corrective measures, said an official in the Ministry.

Sukhad Yatra mobile application by the National Highways Authority of India, (NHAI), provides users with real-time data related to waiting time expected at Plazas and various facilities like points of interest, highway nest/nest mini, available across the highway.

As per the latest National Crime Record Bureau report on Road Accidents in India in 2021, the National Highways, which has a share of only 2.1% of total road length (1.33 lakh km out of 63.9 lakh km as on 2020) accounted for the highest road accidents, contributing 30.3% of total road accidents.

Earlier, the Department Related Standing Committee on Transport and Tourism had suggested that "the Ministry may work upon improving the usability of the Sukhad Yatra smartphone application at the earliest and come up with innovative means to promote the application to NH users across the country. An option to seek feedback from the person posting a complaint using the app may also be added so as to gain insight into whether the problem pointed out by the complainant has actually been resolved or not."

Commenting on road safety, K K Kapila, President Emeritus, of the International Road Federation (IRF), a Geneva-based global road safety body, said that the installation of the Intelligent Traffic Management System involving speed cameras and digital warning boards on both the Expressways would go a long way in improving safety standards The system, commonplace on major highways in developed countries, involves setting up high-speed cameras at chronic locations on the expressway.