Africa-Press – Mauritius. A wreath-laying ceremony was held, this morning, at the Stele found at Sorèze, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Sorèze Accident and to pay tribute to the memory of the victims.
The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo; the General Manager of the National Transport Corporation (NTC), Mr Rao Ramah; and other personalities were present on the occasion.
In a statement following the wreath-laying ceremony, Minister Ganoo indicated that today is a day that offers an opportunity to pay tribute to those road victims and all those who deal with the traumatic aftermath of this incident which happened ten years ago but left a deep scar in the hearts of the population.
Furthermore, Mr Ganoo highlighted that reducing the number of road accidents and casualties is one of the Government’s priorities adding that all necessary measures are being taken in this endeavour.
Enforcement of laws, sensitisation campaigns, and educational programmes are being used to create awareness on the gravity of road accidents, he recalled.
Moreover, he underlined that the driving culture in Mauritius should be changed as many people are involved in careless driving which results in fatalities on the road.
Minister Ganoo reiterated that saving people’s lives and road safety should be a matter of concern for everyone as the road is not private property but is used by the public.
On that note, he lauded the work being done by his Ministry as well as several Non-Governmental Organisations to curb the number of road accidents. Mr Ganoo also informed that the average number of road accidents in Mauritius are mostly due to speeding and by those who do not respect the Road Traffic Regulations. He thus appealed to the population to adopt safe driving practices so as to fight the scourge of road accidents.
He further indicated that measures to prevent such mishaps from happening including a project for the construction of an arrester bed along Motorway M1 at Sorèze/Montebello and, a change in the fleet of NTC buses to electric buses, are being examined by his Ministry, the Traffic Management and Road Safety Unit, the Road Development Authority and, other stakeholders.
Road Closure at Macondé On another note, Minister Ganoo informed that due to rocks purging work by Sotravic Ltd on the Macondé cliff found along the Black River/Savanne Coast Road B9, the road will be closed to traffic in both directions from 08hrs00 to 15hrs30 on normal working days.
This, he underlined, is being done taking into consideration that several commuters use this road and cannot be closed on a 24/7 basis as it will cause a great disruption to the commuters.
The road, Mr Ganoo pointed out, will be opened to traffic normally outside working hours and during weekends and public holidays. The road closure will be effective as from 04 May 2023 for a duration of three months.
On this note, the Minister indicated that in a bid to ease the journey of commuters and the inhabitants of the region during the road closure, several initiatives have been taken, including: a traffic diversion scheme; bus shuttle services will be provided from Baie du Cap traffic Centre to Case Noyale and vice-versa every 30 minutes in order to allow people to join their normal bus routes; traffic signs will be placed to guide road users and; Police assistance will be provided.
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