RCD takes steps to prevent animal-related accidents

Patna: Following Supreme Court’s directives, the state road construction department (RCD) has intensified its highway monitoring to mitigate animal-related accidents and enhance overall road safety.The department has formed patrol teams across its 64 divisions, identifying 757 specific locations under its jurisdiction where stray dogs and other animals frequently assemble. This initiative is part of a broader safety protocol that includes regular auditing, repair of identified black spots, and improvements in traffic engineering across the state’s road network.Dhananjoy Kumar Bampat, superintendent engineer and nodal officer of the RCD, said the department has implemented a structured system for handling stray animals found on major highways and roads. “If stray animals are found on national highways or state highways, the patrol teams are required to take photographs, including the longitude and latitude coordinates, and send it to the relevant executive officers,” he said. He further said this data allows the animals to be efficiently relocated to designated centres, adding that the civic bodies have been allocated the responsibility of establishing the shelter points.“The role of the RCD is to find the animals and report them to the body concerned for shifting them to designated shelter points,” Bampat said. He added that the primary objective of these operations is to avoid vehicular accidents and prevent the accidental deaths of strays on the road. These patrolling teams have been active since Dec 2025, ensuring the safety of both commuters and animals.The department is also addressing safety issues. “Based on 2024 calculations, 248 accident black spots were identified across Bihar,” Bampat said. He said 179 of these spots have already been addressed using a combination of short-term, interim, and long-term fixes. He added that these rectifications involve installing signage, speed limit boards, and speed breakers, as well as correcting the physical geometry of the roads. For more complex areas, the department is implementing larger infrastructure projects, including the construction of bypasses, foot overbridges, and underpasses to ensure long-term road safety.