First and foremost importance should be given to the pedestrians. It is high time we take up such road safety initiatives and spread the message by creating more awareness, Commissioner of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy said before flagging off the tableau on Road Safety near Kalimatha Temple on the Beach Road here on Saturday.
Addressing the gathering, he said that the Police Department alone cannot bring down incidence of road mishaps. However, a collective effort is required from the public and private organisations apart from the police to promote and implement safety rules effectively in the city. He lauded the initiative taken by The Hindu in association with Shriram Panorama Hills to create awareness on road safety, traffic rules and to wear protective gear while driving.
The campaign was organised in line with the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’ (2011-2020) declared by the UN General Assembly.
As part of the road show, some 100 students from Bhashyam Public School, MVP Colony took out a rally from Kalimatha Temple to Aqua Sports Complex carrying placards like ‘don’t fool yourself, avoid risky road crossing’, ‘wear a helmet and save your life’, ‘zebra-crossing for pedestrians only’ and ‘don’t use mobile phone while driving’.
A truck carrying a mangled car was taken round the city passing through important roads like YMCA, Maddilapalem, Bullayya College, Satyam junction, Gurudwara junction, NAD junction and Gajuwaka junction, halting for a while and distributing leaflets on tips for safety driving. The campaign drew the attention of the passersby as traffic awareness quiz was conducted and gifts were given to those who answered them correctly.
Stressing the importance of road safety, general manager marketing of Shriram Properties Ramesh Menon said: “The city is developing and the infrastructure is not enough for the growing population leading to road mishaps. Every individual needs to understand the concept of the safety rules and abide by the traffic rules.”
Additional DCP V. Suresh Babu, Motor Vehicle Inspector M. Butchi Raju, senior marketing manager of Shriram Properties Ravi Shankar, The Hindu regional general manager T.V. Suresh and others were present.
On Sunday
On the second day of the campaign the tableau will start from GVMC at 9 a.m. where Deputy Transport Commissioner Md.Salim would be the chief guest. The vehicle will go to the Zoo in the morning and try and create awareness among the visitors there. In the evening it would start from RK Beach and go to CMR Central via YMCA.
