Daijiworld Media Network - Goa (mb)
from special correspondent

Panaji, Jan 11: Goa will take the help of Maharashtra's director general of police Dr P S Pasricha to put in place the traffic situation in the state.

"I have spoken to Maharashtra chief minister (Vilasrao Deshmukh) asking him whether services of Pasricha can be taken after his retirement from the services," Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat told the state legislative assembly on Friday during the proceedings.

"The person who has set right the traffic system in Mumbai would be asked to help the state," he said talking about Pasricha, who is a 1970 batch Indian Police Service officer.

"We don't want Goa to be known as a killer state," Kamat said, adding that the state government would come out with a white paper on the traffic scenario of the state for last five years.

The chief minister, who came to the rescue of home minister Ravi Naik after opposition launched a scathing attack over the increasing number of road accidents, also declared that the year 2008 would be declared as "The Year of Roads".

The record furnished on the floor of the house reveals that the number of accidents is on the rise every year in this tourist state. In 2004, 5,181 vehicles were involved in various accidents while in 2005, the number declined to 4,905. It again rose to 5,290 vehicles.

Appealing to the parents to help the police in curbing the accidents, the chief minister said that every college-going student comes on a bike which is something to worry about. "Parents should know their social responsibility while fulfilling the aspirations of their wards," Kamat said.