Students break traffic rules, college drops bike rally

Nagpur: Tirpude Institute of Management Education (TIME) had decided to drop the bike rally from promotional activities it has been carrying out in the run up to different festivals organized by its BBA, BCA and MBA students.

The move came following last week's incident when around 50 students were caught on camera risking their lives during the bike rally for the annual CrescendoWood festival, which started on Tuesday.

Carol Rao, coordinator for BBA course and in charge of CrescendoWood, told TOI, "The bike rally is not happening from next year. In the past too, a couple of activities were dropped after it was found that they were causing problems for others."

The college and students drew flak from different quarters of society after images and videos of the students breaking traffic rules and riding without helmet had gone viral. While none of the student wore helmet, a girl riding pillion stood on her knees holding a poster.

On Friday evening, the MBA, BBA and BCA students had taken out a rally to promote CrescendoWood from their college at Civil Lines to Futala Lake to Poonam Chambers Chhaoni. Students on 25 bikes and five faculty members participated in the rally. The students have been organizing the rally for the last eight years. Last year too, similar images of unruly bike rally had gone viral ahead of the festival.

Rao admitted that the students did threw safety to winds during the rally despite being told not to do so. "We keep telling the students not to go overboard and break traffic rules. After it came to the college's notice, the students were reprimanded. A session on creating awareness about traffic safety too was held. We tried to link the act of unruly riding on roads with the consequences their family could face," she said.

Rao added that the faculty members ensure that no student breaks the law especially while promoting a college event but once the rally starts not much remains in their control. "In the flow, it becomes difficult for faculty members to keep the students under control," she said.

Isha Makhani, a second-year student of BBA who is college's media director, said the college does advice them to ensure safety and compliance to rules but participants get carried away in the frenzy. Asked why didn't the office-bearers of such events proposed to skip bike rally if every year rules are broken, Makhani said it was up to the college to decide.