Chennai,  Road crash deaths in Tamil Nadu have come down by 8.1 per cent when compared to the previous year.

While 45 deaths are reported per day in the state in the current year, it was around 49 the previous year.

Tamil Nadu State Programme manager of TN Accident and Emergency Care Initiative (TAEI), Dr S. Maruthu Thurai in a statement on Monday said that while the number of accidents has gone up, the deaths due to these accidents has come down and this is due to the state government programme, "Innuyir Kaapoom- Nammai Kakkum 48", under which the state will bear the expenses of emergency care for accident victims for the first 48 hours.

Notably, TAEI is focusing mainly on paralysis, heart attack, accidents, burns, poisoning and emergency care management and resuscitation of children.

As per state government officials, the state was planning to reduce deaths on road by 50 per cent from the current rate by 2030. The officials of the emergency care department said that drunken driving has been the major cause of accident deaths but a large number of these go unreported for getting insurance claims.

The "Innuyir Kaapoom- Nammai Kaakkum 48" was launched by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at Chengalpattu on December 17, 2021. The Chief Minister had then said that the state government was paying special attention to reducing road accidents, preventing fatalities and improving road safety.

Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative officials, including doctors, told IANS that ten months after its inception, the scheme has become a major support programme for accident victims and that in the coming years the number of fatalities on the roads will come down in good numbers.