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HDFC Bank partners with JK Traffic police for ‘Traffic Paathshala’ initiative

Campaign to educate people on Do’s and Don’t’s of road safety 

Srinagar: Keeping in view the growing number of road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir, Radio Mirchi in collaboration with HDFC Bank and Jammu and Kashmir Traffic Police, Srinagar on Monday launched a week-long road safety initiative “Traffic Paathshala”.

The volunteers from Mirchi have identified 10 major beats which are most congested including Jehangir Chowk, Zero Bridge, Sanat Nagar Chowk, Hyderpora Chowk, Dalgate, Chanpora Chowk, Pantha Chowk, Lal Bazar, Batmaloo and Karanagar.

At those spots, volunteers with traffic awareness placards will stop and sensitize commuters about Road Safety and traffic rules from today to 29th March. Additional Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Sonam Dechan, Senior Vice President HDFC Bank Zubair Iqbal and Vice President of the Bank Iftikhar Ahmad flagged off the awareness rally.

“Nearly 3 lakh people are expected to benefit from this initiative. The motorists found following traffic regulations will receive a token of appreciation while those violating it will be enrolled in the ‘Traffic Paathshala’ and will be informed about Do’s and Don’ts of road safety,” read a presser issued by the Bank.

In a joint presser Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, a Nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India, HDFC Bank officials and J&K Traffic Police officials agreed to the gravity of the traffic mess when Radio Jockey Mehak quoted state government data which reveals that last year 908 people were killed in 5529 road accidents in the state till November. Another 7250 people were injured.

“It is about lives. This is the reason we collaborated to spread awareness. As RJs, me, Rafia, Vijdan; we all get so many calls related to the traffic issue,” said RJ Mehak.

On the event, SSP Srinagar, Dr Haseeb Mughab said, “The traffic issue is so grave that we lose around 1.5 Lakh people in accidents across India in one year. Around 1.5 million people get affected by the traffic incidents across the world.”

Adding, he also said, “ It is a major challenge, more than any militancy, terrorism or any other conflicts in the world. If everybody starts following the rules and laws with looking at what other people are doing, I am sure we will be able to manage it.”

Agreeing to what Mughal said, Zubair Iqbal, on the occasion said, “HDFC Bank has recently held the same event in Jammu. We have a responsibility to educate the masses. We are losing more than 1 lakh 50 thousand lives across the country every year and in J&K this figure is more than 5000. As corporate social citizens, we are trying to fulfil our responsibility.”

While addressing the press, SP Dechen said that the brunt of the traffic congestion is faced by the traffic police when there are many other factors that contribute to the mess including urbanisation and migration.

“To establish a good traffic management system, people need to empathise with other people while parking their vehicles. They should follow those rules and know about the three Es of Traffic: Education, Engineering and Enforcement. Due to the lack of infrastructure, we cannot make freelines for crucial vehicles like ambulances. Management is our only option,” he said adding, “Robust public transport and lack of a comfortable and efficient public transport is one of the major reasons behind the traffic mess in the city.”

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