Gateway 310112.pmd - Rotary Club of Bombay

SHERIFF, CITY POLICE TAKE PART IN SEVERAL‘ROAD SAFETY’ PROGRAMMESSeveral Rotary, Rotaract and InteractClubs took active part in the“Road Safety Fortnight” organised inthe city from January 1 by RotaryInternational District 3140 in associationwith the Rotary Club of Bombayand the Bombay Police.Deepak Kapadia, who is both Districtas well as Club Chairman for RoadSafety, reports that one of the highlightsof the fortnight was the sight ofInteractors and Rotaractors standingon the pavements outside their schools/collegesand at other vantagepoints, holding aloft banners and postersasking motorists to drive safelybecause someone was waiting for themat home.Many sports personalities had alsoagreed to act as “brand ambassadors”for the campaign. They participatedin the drive organised by the RotaryClub of Bombay along with theRotaract Club of H.R. College (a reporton this appeared in The Gatewaydated January 17).Another highlight was the interactiveprogramme held on February 11,when senior personnel of the TrafficPolice answered questions posed tothem by young boys and girls.Among the Interact Clubs that heldtheir own drives outside their premiseswere those at Bharda New High School(they did so on January 5), HVB Academy(January 6), St. Anne’s School(January 7) and Fort Convent and St.Mary’s (on January 10).When District Governor Vijay Jalanmade his Official Visit to the RotaryClub of Bombay on January 17, thePresidents of the Interact Clubs at theabove schools conveyed informationabout their activities to him.The Interact Club of Green LawnsHigh School, sponsored by the RotaryClub of Bombay Worli, wonderedwhether they could also take part inthe drive to propagate the need forroad safety. When invited to do so,the Club sent 40 members to WorliIsland, near the Worli-Bandra Sealink,on January 12; they, too, held aloftbanners emphasising safe driving.Printed on the banners that theyheld up were the following slogans:“No road safety – Know injury,” “Lifedoesn’t have a reset button: Drivesafely,” “Follow traffic rules – Saveyour future” and “Your family is waitingfor you: Drive safely.”Before the interactive programmeat H.R. College on January 11, 50Rotaractors of the college displayedplacards outside the two institutions,viz., H.R. and K.C., conveying the needfor road safety to college-going youth.When the formal programme washeld in the premises of H.R. College,District Governor Vijay Jalan, PresidentPaul George, President-ElectNowroze Vazifdar, District AvenueChair N.D. Joseph and Deepak werejoined by the Sheriff of Bombay, (Dr.)Indu Shahani, the Joint Commissionerof Police (Traffic), Mr. Vivek Phansalkar,the Deputy Commissioner ofPolice, Mr. Nandkumar Chaugule, seniorofficers from the traffic departmentand about 100 Rotaractors andInteractors.Chairman Deepak presented bouquetsto the dignitaries and made abrief speech pointing out that the Clubhad received great support from theTraffic Police, especially from Mr.Phansalkar, while organising programmesinvolving Rotarians, Rotaractorsand Interactors.He had allowed the formation of“Human Chains” at key places suchas Churchgate, the Regal cinema island,Worli island and outside the premisesof various schools. He had alsogiven permission for street plays onroad safety at the Gateway of India,Inox cinema at Nariman Point, R-CityMall, Phoenix Mall and so on. He haddeputed senior officers at the venuesand also facilitated participation in theMumbai Marathon.President Paul, who welcomed thegathering, stressed the need for roadsafety because many precious humanlives were unnecessarily lost on roads.He was pleased to note that Rotaractorsand Interactors were takingkeen interest in promoting the cause.Rotaractor Dinesh, who representedH.R. College, said it was verytragic that every year over 200,000people died in road accidents in India.In Maharashtra alone, around 18,000people, many of them very young inage, died. The young generation hadnow taken up the cause very seriouslyand would propagate it by taking partin rallies and by distributing postersand pamphlets in societies, schoolsand colleges.District Governor Vijay Jalan saidit was tragic that so many valuablelives were being snuffed out in roadaccidents which occurred because oflack of road safety. Several RotaryClubs in the District had initiatedawareness programmes; the distributionof stickers and posters had beentaken up not only in the city, but alsoin the suburbs of Thane and Deonar.He thanked Mr. Phansalkar and hisdepartment for helping Rotary Clubsto spread mass awareness throughoutDistrict 3140.In a brief speech, (Dr.) Indu Shahanisaid she always got upset when shelearnt about people, especially theyoung, dying in road accidents. Shesaid the Rotaractors of H.R. Collegewere enthusiastically participating inthe noble task of spreading the messageof road safety.Mr. Vivek Phansalkar complimentedthe Rotary Club of Bombayfor taking the lead in propagating roadsafety measures, pointing out that theyouth were “the citizens of tomorrow”.He also lauded the Club formobilising leading sports personalitiesto become “ambassadors” for the campaignand thanked the Sheriff for promotingthe cause through the youth.There had been a good response tothe campaign at public places and outsideschools and colleges. Publicity inthe press and on the electronic mediahad also helped spread the message.As a result, he claimed, there had beena noticeable fall in the accident rate.But it was the driver at the wheel,the person riding the two-wheeler, whohad to scrupulously follow the rulesto ensure his/her safety lest there wasan accident and it ruined the lives ofone or more families.He agreed that it was a difficult taskto ensure safety on roads, what with250 new cars coming out on the city’sroads every day. Proper lessons andtraining were not being imparted atthe time of issuing driving licences andtwo-wheeler riders avoided wearinghelmets, thus risking their lives. Thiswas one of the reasons why the policedepartment was imposing heavy fines.(Continued on Page 8)Releasing posters, banners and other material. President Paul George (secondfrom left) with (from right) Deepak, DG Vijay Jalan, Indu Shahani, the JointCommissioner of Police (Traffic), Mr. Vivek Phansalkar, and the DeputyCommissioner of Police, Mr. Nandkumar Chaugule (extreme left)The H.R. Rotaractors played a key role. Seen here with President Paul, Mr. They came a long way, indeed. Students of the Marathi Municipal School atVivek Phansalkar and others. At right is District Avenue Chair N.D. Joseph Marol (near Sahar airport) came to present their version of road safetyJanuary 31 to February 6, 2012 THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay Page 7