A member of Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety
My Life in My Hands
In order to make Baleshwar Kharagpur Expressway as one of the safest highways in India, we have launched a unique initiative “My Life in My Hands” in association with IL & FS Transportation Limited. The goal is to create empowered communities along the highways, who being the major road users are also first ones to be affected or respond to accidents. The organization is giving training on road safety issues and accident response measures to different stakeholders. Villages, petrol pumps, business establishments, hotels and eateries along the highway are being sensitized on the issue. Special programme are being organized for school children, college students and local villagers. The project is now concentrating its activities on 11 black spot stretches on the Expressway that cover around 35 villages of Baleshwar district and West Medinipur district of West Bengal.
A major intervention is forming of Village-level Road Safety Committees for capacity building for accident prevention and quick response. This apart, the village institutions is keeping watch on the roads and report violators to the police and other authorities. They are also working as a pressure group to ensure compliance by residents of their villages.
The project is covering the entire 119 kms Expressway from Baleshwar to Kharagpur in India with a mission to bring down accidents by 50 % within 15 months.