Union Transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said he was planning to bring a law under which only the sound of Indian musical instruments can be used as a horn for vehicles.

Speaking at a highway inauguration ceremony here, Gadkari said he was also studying the sirens used by ambulances and police vehicles and replace them with a more pleasant tune played on the All India Radio.

Mr. Gadkari said he put an end to red beacons. “Now I want to put an end to these sirens as well. Now I am studying the sirens (used by) ambulances and police.

“I am studying this and soon planning to make a law that the horns of all vehicles should be in Indian musical instruments so that it is pleasant to hear. Flute, tabla, violin, mouth organ, harmonium,” Gadkari said.

He said 5 lakh accidents take place in India every year claiming the lives of 1.5 lakh people and lakhs are injured. We lose 3 per cent of our GDP due to accidents, he added.

Accidents on the Mumbai-Pune highway have come down by 50 per cent. Tamil Nadu government has brought down accidents and deaths by 50 per cent, but in Maharashtra, similar success could not be achieved, he said.

Maharashtra has a high rate of people dying due to accidents, the Union minister said.