Parisar holds police, RTO accountable for success of helmet drive
NGO member Ranjit Gadgil (inset) said only sporadic action has been taken against helmets till now; so, they wish to ensure that the current drive is sustained by the authorities concerned, so that many lives can be saved, FILE PHOTO
Letters written to various officials say they will face court cases if 90% of city is not using the safety gear in 6 months
While the authorities have been making a noise about cracking down on city commuters for ignoring the strict new helmet mandate, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has now put it in writing that these bodies will be held responsible if they falter, holding them accountable for waking up late to this cause.
City-based NGO Parisar has sent letters to thepolice commissionerates of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, besides the Regional Transport Office (RTO ), saying they will have to be answerable to the Bombay High Court (HC) six months from now, if the enforcement of the helmet rule is not successful and 90 per cent of two-wheeler riders from Pune do not adopt this safety gear for daily use.
The group of activists has been working onroad safety in the city for years now, and is also part of the District Road Safety Committee. A notice sent by them to the director general of police (DGP), state transport commissioner, regional transport officer for Pune and both police commissioners (Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad) says these powers have failed to ensure the strict compliance of legal provisions related to motor vehicles, specifically Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.
Parisar programme director Ranjit Gadgil told Mirror, “The ministry of road transport and highways has issued several communications on helmets from time to time, specifically urging principal secretaries and transport commissioners of all states and Union Territories to monitor compulsory use and take strict action for noncompliance in this regard. If we do not see a drastic change in the percentage of people wearing helmets here, we are going to move the HC and Supreme Court against government officials for their failure.”
He explained, “Other than sporadic awareness programmes that seem like tokenism, no consistent effort has been taken to bring down these figures. We are left with no option but to take legal recourse. Many precious lives could have been saved had the helmet rule been enforced earlier.”
To bolster this, the NGO has compared a set of data over 12 years (from 2005 to 2016), according to which for the last six years (2011-2016), 1.083 persons were killed on city roads (the annual average being 180.5) compared to the earlier six years (2005-2010), during which 819 persons were killed on city roads (the annual average being 136.5). In other words, there has been a 32 per cent increase in the number of road fatalities.
Pune CP K Venkatesham, however, told Mirror he has received no such letter or email from the NGO, but added that his constabulary is taking all necessary measures to bring down the said toll. Besides him, Pimpri-Chinchwad CP RK Padmanabhan and RTO BI Ajri also assured that 90 per cent of citizens here will start using helmets by the end of this year’s first half.
While the authorities have been making a noise about cracking down on city commuters for ignoring the strict new helmet mandate, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has now put it in writing that these bodies will be held responsible if they falter, holding them accountable for waking up late to this cause.
City-based NGO Parisar has sent letters to the
The group of activists has been working on
Parisar programme director Ranjit Gadgil told Mirror, “The ministry of road transport and highways has issued several communications on helmets from time to time, specifically urging principal secretaries and transport commissioners of all states and Union Territories to monitor compulsory use and take strict action for noncompliance in this regard. If we do not see a drastic change in the percentage of people wearing helmets here, we are going to move the HC and Supreme Court against government officials for their failure.”
He explained, “Other than sporadic awareness programmes that seem like tokenism, no consistent effort has been taken to bring down these figures. We are left with no option but to take legal recourse. Many precious lives could have been saved had the helmet rule been enforced earlier.”
To bolster this, the NGO has compared a set of data over 12 years (from 2005 to 2016), according to which for the last six years (2011-2016), 1.083 persons were killed on city roads (the annual average being 180.5) compared to the earlier six years (2005-2010), during which 819 persons were killed on city roads (the annual average being 136.5). In other words, there has been a 32 per cent increase in the number of road fatalities.
Pune CP K Venkatesham, however, told Mirror he has received no such letter or email from the NGO, but added that his constabulary is taking all necessary measures to bring down the said toll. Besides him, Pimpri-Chinchwad CP RK Padmanabhan and RTO BI Ajri also assured that 90 per cent of citizens here will start using helmets by the end of this year’s first half.
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