Come Home Safe: Odisha Govt Extends Zero Accident Day Campaign to Keonjhar

Bhubaneswar: In a significant move to strengthen road safety under the Come Home Safe vision of Hon’ble Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the Odisha Government has announced the expansion of the Zero Accident Day (ZAD) campaign to Keonjhar district—one of the state’s most accident-prone regions.

The initiative assumes greater urgency as Keonjhar has been identified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and IIT Madras among the Top 100 Districts for Data-Driven Hyperlocal Interventions (DDHI). The district, which witnesses a high volume of heavy motor vehicle movement due to mining and industrial activities, has consistently reported disproportionately high accident figures, underscoring the need for targeted interventions.

The ZAD campaign, which has already shown encouraging results in Bhubaneswar with a visible decline in accident fatalities, will now be implemented in Keonjhar through a comprehensive 14-day action plan designed by IIT Madras. A high-level strategy meeting chaired by Principal Secretary Smt. Usha Padhee and Transport Commissioner Shri Amitabh Thakur, along with the Collector of Keonjhar, state nodal officers, and technical experts from RBG Labs, IIT Madras, finalized the roadmap for reducing accidents and fatalities in the district.

As part of the plan, a series of community-driven and data-based initiatives will be rolled out across blocks and villages. These include dialogues with local residents through “Cha Au Charcha” sessions near accident hotspots, training of Sahayaks and Raahveers as first responders, awareness sessions in schools to nurture future safe drivers, specialized training for drivers working in mining and industrial sectors, and mass awareness through All India Radio programs and teaser campaigns.

Speaking on the initiative, Principal Secretary Usha Padhee said that the positive results witnessed in Bhubaneswar following the observance of Zero Accident Day demonstrate the campaign’s effectiveness. She stressed that in a district like Keonjhar, where heavy vehicle movement is significantly high, the focus must now be on behavioural change and sustained awareness. Road safety, she emphasized, is a shared responsibility that requires collective participation.

Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur observed that Keonjhar continues to report a disproportionately high number of accidents, and asserted that with targeted interventions and close coordination, the Government is determined to make a measurable impact. Adding a technical perspective, Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian of RBG Labs, IIT Madras highlighted that the integrated ZAD-DDHI approach combines technology, training, and empathy to address road safety comprehensively, expressing confidence that Keonjhar can become a model for other districts in India.

The meeting concluded with all stakeholders taking a joint pledge to ensure the success of the campaign. With this expansion, the Odisha Government expects collective and data-driven efforts to significantly reduce road accidents and fatalities, thereby advancing its mission to make the state’s roads safer for every citizen under the Come Home Safe movement.