Odisha govt to set up five more driving training centres, 35 testing stations to power road safety

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has decided to set up five more institutes of driving training and research (IDTRs) in the state to provide both light motor vehicle and heavy motor vehicle training to aspiring drivers with a focus on reducing road accidents and improving driving skills.Once the institutes are established, the state will have nine such driving centres for scientific training programmes for drivers, driving school instructors and officers of the Motor Vehicle department for improving road user behaviour.The government has also planned to set up automated testing stations (ATS) at 35 more locations to conduct automated vehicle fitness tests and improve road safety. The first state-owned ATS was inaugurated in Cuttack on January 30. While work orders have been placed for 21 ATS, plans are afoot to operationalise 10 stations by December this year. The rest 14 ATS will be established and operated through PPP and viability gap funding mode.

Presently, four IDTRs at Chhatia (Jajpur), Berhampur (Ganjam), Keonjhar and Bonai (Sundargarh) are functional. These institutes, managed in partnership with Ashok Leyland, have been imparting training to drivers.

Sources said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has been proposed to provide financial assistance of Rs 17.5 crore for each IDTR to come up at Bhubaneswar, Angul, Koraput, Sambalpur and Kalahandi.