The state government of Odisha has launched a first of its kind road safety initiative named Rakshak, to train first responders of road accidents. Under the program, 300 master trainers will train 30,000 local people, staying or working at the eateries and different business establishments located near accident-prone spots. These 30,000 volunteers will be trained as First Responders to road accidents. They will be equipped to administer first aid and pre-hospital trauma care to accident victims within the golden hour.

About the initiative:

• The ‘Rakshak’ initiative was organised by the Commerce and Transport Department in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Indian Red Cross Society, Odisha State branch.
• As part of the initiative, the state government will train volunteers from roadside communities such as eateries, small repair shops, gas stations, and also police officers to be first responders to road accident victims.

The training programme for first responders will be conducted in two phases:

• In the first phase, 300 master trainers will be trained by experts from the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) in ten locations: Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Balasore, Koraput, Phulbani, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, and Bhawanipatna.
• In the second phase, the 300 master trainers will visit accident-prone areas in all districts and train locals to assist road accident victims. The first responders will also educate and inform the public about road safety precautions and the Good Samaritan law.

• The trainings were designed not only to impart the know-how on handling victims but also orienting on topics such as crowd/traffic management, quick communication, road safety aspects to better manage the situation. Additionally, it taught on the good Samaritan law to rule out all apprehensions of potential 1st responders about being harassed at multiple points and come forward to save lives fearlessly.
• Highly interactive classroom sessions accompanied with handholding sessions proved very useful in bridging gaps and preparing trainers to face real life situations.
• High degree of commitment, discipline, overwhelming willingness to help, a higher number of volunteers than expected and enthusiasm was observed from all locations
• Trainers and 1st responders gained confidence in dealing with real-life experiences .
• This project also highlighted interdepartmental/inter-organisational coordination as one of the key elements in making any project a success.