Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury on July 14 said that the number of registered vehicles in the state rose from zero point four million (mn) to zero point eight mn while the road accident rate fell by around 13 per cent compared with earlier years. He said the state government had taken several measures to ensure faster rescue operations and improved medical treatment for road accident victims. The PM Rahat scheme was launched through modernisation and strengthening of the former Good Samaritan policy, with a provision that a person who rescues an accident victim and takes them to hospital would receive a reward of Rs 25,000 from the Transport Department. Immediate cashless medical facilities have also been arranged for the injured. He was speaking at the inauguration of a workshop titled The Motor Vehicles Act and Associated Rules at Pragya Bhavan in Agartala, which was organised to strengthen the road safety system and ensure effective implementation of the Motor Vehicles Act. Detailed discussions covered various aspects including the Motor Vehicles Act, road safety measures, the e?Challan system, traffic management and effective law enforcement methods. He said rescuers under the PM Rahat scheme would not face police interrogation or legal complications. To ensure quick response in road emergencies, 16 state?of?the?art life?saving ambulances and modern traffic interceptor vehicles had been deployed on important and accident?prone roads across the state. Special awareness camps were planned at district level to extend benefits of the scheme to remote areas and a large?scale awareness campaign would be undertaken with participation of district magistrates, police and elected representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions. Tripura Police IGP Manchak Ippar said that around 70,000 driving licences had been confiscated in the state over the last three years while several thousand licences had been temporarily suspended. He indicated that future enforcement would place greater emphasis on confiscating licences for serious traffic violations and on permanent cancellation of vehicle registrations and driving licences where necessary. The programme was attended by Additional Secretary Subrata Chowdhury, Joint Secretary Maitree Debnath and other senior officials.