Two Centres of Excellence to help the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to achieve excellence in road safety, and to foster growth in construction of roads, bridges, air fields and tunnels have been dedicated to the nation on Friday (June 11, 2021).
They have been established by BRO and dedicated by the defence minister Rajnath Singh.
The aim of the Centre of Excellence for Road Safety & Awareness (CoERSA) is to create awareness about road safety. This will be done through analysis sharing of the accidents on the road as well as suggesting various methods that would help in saving lives.
The focus of Centre of Excellence for Roads, Bridges, Air Fields and Tunnels (CoERBAT) is on institutionalising the knowledge which it has gained over years during the development of 56,000 metres of bridges, 19 airfields, of around 60,000 kms of roads and four tunnels in the eastern and north-western part of the country.
While dedicating the two Centres, Mr Singh expressed appreciation of the efforts of BRO in establishing the Centres of Excellence.
Talking about the road accidents, he said that almost approx. 1.5 lakh lives are lost every year, and several initiatives have been taken by the government which include: Motor Vehicle Act 2020; National Road Safety Policy, and identification of black spots on national highways. These will help to tackle the problem of accidents.
Despite extreme weather conditions, the BRO has played a crucial role in building roads, tunnels and other infrastructure in remote areas, and its efforts to increase connectivity.
He described connectivity as an essential component of a nation’s progress, and said BRO is not only catering to the needs of the Armed Forces but is also working towards the socio-economic development of the border areas.
State-of-the-art construction of ‘Atal Tunnel; Rohtang’, Kailash Mansarovar Road and Zojila pass.
On the budget allotment for BRO, the minister said that it has been increased, also approval has been given for special clothing for the personnel working in high-altitude areas. And talked about the cadre review to boost morale.
Four software which have been developed for optimising the work efficiency of BRO personnel, their HR management, recruitment management, enrolment and works management was also launched.
These were created by BRO which would help in reducing the paperwork and cutting down carbon footprint, and modernizing the organization.
DG Border Roads Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry earlier briefed the minister on the achievements of his organization and the initiatives taken.