‘Gandhigiri’ put to traffic test

KOLKATA: Don’t feel pampered if a kid walks up to you and gifts you a soft-toy on your way to the office today. The soft toy is a gentle reminder that you have breached a traffic rule somewhere. And if you don’t mend your ways, you might end up having a closet full of soft-toys since schoolstudents will distribute them throughout the week as part of Kolkata Police’s Road Safety Week campaign.But police top brass is hopeful that Kolkatans will respond to their ‘Gandhigiri’ and roads will be safer in days ahead.
Involving young students in the road-safety campaign, which starts on February 9, is nothing new for Kolkata Police. According to senior police officers, commuters, even if they are “obstinate” or “egoistic”, respond to children more than to a strict cop. “They listen to them and try to follow what they say. So we are trying to take this unique campaign to next level where Gandhigiri might give wonderful results,” said a senior officer.
Students 23 schools will man all major crossings of the city along with traffic personnel. Besides managing traffic, some of them will be sitting in tableaus, which are basically models of different cars. From there, they will distribute road-safety leaflets. There will be installations — mangled vehicles — at 10 major city crossings to serve as grim reminders of some of the fatal accidents. The installations will have the story of accidents and how the person could have been saved, if he had safety precautions.
“We try to spread traffic awareness throughout the year but the efforts are well-organized and target-specific during the Road Safety Week,” said joint commissioner (traffic) Supratim Sarkar.
Kolkata Police will also conduct four workshops on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for cabbies and auto-drivers. They would be trained by some of the finest experts in this field. The doctors will then take a test and the first student in each workshop will be awarded by the police commissioner.