Underscoring the urgent need to ensure implementation of Road Safety protocols on mission mode, the Punjab Transport Minister Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday 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, Warring said making an emotional appeal to citizens to adopt traffic compliance into their day to day behaviour.Launching the statewide Road Safety Campaign 'No-Challan Day' from here earlier in the morning on the occasion of Children's Day, Warring while expressing deep concern over average high rate of road fatalities in the state directed the department to ensure strictest implementation of low and safe speed limits within school areas to ensure safety of children.A concerted approach where in 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 here, 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 everyday in road crashes which is a serious cause of concern, Warring said adding it would be highly regrettable if we don't act now to ensure a safe road environemnt 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 adding that need to inculcate respect for obeying traffic rules is paramount today.
Warring, who after taking over the department in the last week of September, has been aggressively initiating measures to strengthen 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 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 exosiaclly our youngsters, the Minister said.Lauding the Department for making continuous efforts to achieve greater traffic literacy, Warring asked them to continue working with same vigour and excitement in future as well.The carefully designed Campaign was simultaneously organised at 100 locations across the state in active collaboration with Police Department, Punjab Youth Congress, National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Punjab, Mahila Congress besides Civil Society, NSS and NGOs taking active part in disseminating traffic and road awareness amongst commuters. Traffic violators were adminsitered a pledge instead of beign issued a challan between 10 AM to 12 Noon to sensitise them towards their own safety and of others travelling on the road.Earlier, the Transport Minister before reaching inspected Moga Bus Stand as part of the departement'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 Angad dutta district president youth Congress.