Pilibhit,  The Uttar Pradesh government has made mandatory the use of fluorescent paint strips on all sugarcane-laden vehicles to check road accidents due to winter fog.

Additional chief secretary (Sugarcane) Sanjay R Bhoosreddy said fluorescent paint that glows when exposed to shortwave ultraviolet radiation will ensure clear visibility of vehicles in hazy weather conditions from the front and the rear sides.

"The new preventive measure has been applied with immediate effect. District cane officers and sugar mills across the state have been entrusted with duty to ensure compliance," he added.

Sugar mills and the cane officials will lay six-inch-long strips of red and yellow at both corners of tractor trolleys and trucks at the front and rear sides. The fluorescent paint would be subject to application regardless of whether the cane vehicles were equipped with reflectors or not, Bhoosreddy said.

This process would be replicated at least thrice during the six-seven month-old crushing season to ensure that the paint does not fade. The service would be provided free of cost in public interest, he added.

District cane officer in Pilibhit, Jitendra Kumar Mishra, said, "Best time for painting the strips is when trucks and tractor-trolleys unload sugarcane at sugar mill yards or cane procurement centres. For this, our teams will be ready at the centres and yards."