Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare S. Sundararaj launched ‘Road Safety Week’ celebrations by inaugurating a photo exhibition and flagging off an awareness rally here on Sunday.
The annual Road Safety Week would be celebrated from Sunday to Tuesday and from January 18 to 21 with an array of programmes focussing on awareness of road safety, traffic rules and prevention of accidents.
The Minister, accompanied by Collector K. Nanthakumar, Additional Superintendent of Police S. Vellaidurai and Regional Transport Officer (RTO) J. Sheik Mohamed, visited the photo exhibition, which emphasised the need for following traffic rules, wearing helmet, avoiding use of mobile phone while driving and drunk driving. The rally was taken out by drivers of State Transport Corporations, police department, driving school instructors.
“Road safety is not an empty slogan but a part of life,” read a banner carried by the drivers in the rally.
The RTO said school students would stage plays in Ramanathapuram and Paramakudi on Monday, highlighting road safety, and take out awareness rallies throughout the district on Tuesday.
On the fourth day, essay, oratorical, drawing and slogan writing competitions would be organised for school and college students and the winners would be given total cash prizes of Rs 40,000. The top two in each category would be selected for State-level competitions, Mr Mohamed said.
After a medical camp to be held for drivers of transport corporations and school vans and buses, the celebrations would draw to a close on January 21 with students and drivers taking a pledge that they would not be responsible for accidents, he said.
In Sivaganga, Collector T. Munusamy and Sivaganga Member of Parliament P.R. Senthilnathan inaugurated the photo exhibition and flagged off the awareness rally.
