Bhubaneswar, Sep 6 (UNI) After the successful pilot of the Zero Accident Day (ZAD) campaign in Bhubaneswar, the Odisha Government today extended the initiative to Keonjhar, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
The Commerce and Transport Department, in collaboration with RBG Labs, IIT Madras, announced the launch of the campaign in Keonjhar, identified as an accident-prone district. The move reflects the state’s strong commitment to road safety.
The initiative is aligned with the Chief Minister’s “Come Home Safe” vision and builds upon Bhubaneswar’s success, where ZAD significantly reduced road mishaps and raised mass awareness on safe driving practices.
The Keonjhar campaign will run for 14 days as a behavioural nudge-based movement, integrating education, awareness, enforcement, and community participation.
During the pilot in Bhubaneswar, intensive IEC activities, citizen engagement, and data-driven enforcement reduced accidents compared to the previous year. The success of the model encouraged its expansion to high-risk districts like Keonjhar.
The roadmap for Keonjhar’s ZAD was finalized in a strategy meeting chaired by Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur. IIT Madras presented data insights on crash severity, accident peak hours, violation trends, and vehicle classifications using eDAR data.
The meeting was attended by District Magistrate and Collector Vishal Singh, Superintendent of Police, Additional District Magistrate, and senior officials of the Commerce and Transport Department.
Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur said, “Bhubaneswar has shown us that behavioural change is possible when government, citizens, and academia come together. The campaign will adopt a multi-pronged approach to reduce accidents and instill long-term behavioural change.”
Awareness drives will be carried out through traditional and digital media, school and college workshops, and social media outreach with IIT Madras support. Community participation will be strengthened through volunteers, students, and local leaders acting as ‘Road Safety Ambassadors’ who will conduct street plays, campaigns, and public interactions.
Enforcement will focus on speeding, helmetless riding, overloading, and drunk driving, with counselling prioritized over punitive action. IIT Madras will also provide technical support for blackspot mapping and identification of emerging accident-prone zones to guide enforcement and engineering measures, Thakur added.
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