Punjab Transport Minister launches 'No Challan Day' road safety campaign

Punjab Transport Minister Amarinder Singh Raja Warring launched the statewide 'No Challan Day', a road safety campaign on the occasion of Children's Day on Sunday.

The carefully designed Campaign was simultaneously organised at 100 locations across the state in active collaboration with the Police Department, Punjab Youth Congress, National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Punjab, Mahila Congress besides Civil Society and NGOs taking an active part in disseminating traffic and road awareness amongst commuters. Traffic violators were administered a pledge instead of being issued a challan between 10 AM to 12 Noon to sensitise them towards their own safety and of others travelling on the road.

Underscoring the urgent need to ensure implementation of road safety protocols on a mission mode, Warring said every life lost in accidents is a loss for the entire nation.

"Let us all today on the Children's Day vow to make our state safest for our children and let us start it with roads," said the minister while making an emotional appeal to citizens to adopt traffic compliance into their day to day behaviour.

While launching the campaign, Warring expressed deep concern over the average high rate of road fatalities in the state and directed the department to ensure the strictest implementation of low and safe speed limits within school areas to ensure the safety of children.

A concerted approach wherein everyone acts as an active stakeholder is required to ensure we emerge victorious in our mission to avoid accidents and save lives, he said.

Administering the Road Safety Pledge to violators at the BMC Chowk, the minister while urging them to obey traffic rules also gave them new helmets and badges to wear and spread the message of traffic rules awareness.

"Punjab loses 10-12 precious lives every day in road crashes which is a serious cause of concern. It would be highly regrettable if we do not act now to ensure a safe road environment for our kids, the collective onus of which falls on all of us. It starts with you and me at home and from our schools to make our children vigilant about traffic rules," he said.

Warring, after taking over the department in the last week of September has been aggressively initiating measures to strengthen the efficiency of the state transport undertakings PRTC and Punjab Roadways besides streamlining the working of RTAs in the field.

The unique initiative launched today at 100 locations across Punjab, is a part of the Decade for Road Safety campaign and is aimed at fostering a sense of responsibility amongst commuters by making the mission a mass movement. "We will be holding this initiative twice a month to ensure we don't lag behind in drilling a sense of regularity and discipline amongst our road users, especially our youngsters," the minister said.

Lauding the Department for making continuous efforts to achieve greater traffic literacy, Warring asked them to continue working with the same vigour and excitement in future as well.

Earlier, Warring before reaching inspected the Moga Bus Stand as part of the department's fortnightly drive to improve and sustain safety and sanitation protocols at all bus stands across the state.

Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Joint Commissioner Police, Sandeep Kumar Malik, Secretary, RTA, Jalandhar, Amit Mahajan, ADCP Traffic, Manjit Kaur, and District President, Youth Congress, Angad Dutta.

( With inputs from ANI )