Telangana Launches 'Arrive Alive' Road Safety Drive to Curb Accidents

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will formally launch the campaign at Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad.

Director General of Police Sri B. Shivadhar Reddy said on Sunday that this campaign will be conducted statewide for ten days, from January 13 to 24, excluding festival holidays.

The DGP stated that the main objective of this program is to significantly reduce road accidents and deaths with public participation. He said that the aim of 'Arrive Alive' is to firmly instil the importance of road safety in the mind of every Telangana citizen.

He has instructed all police personnel, from senior officers to the lowest level staff, to work wholeheartedly to make this movement a success.

The DGP mentioned that the objectives of this campaign are to bring about behavioural change among the public and reduce accidents, to institutionally establish a culture of defensive driving, and to strengthen road safety systems from the village to the district level.

The goal is to transform Telangana into a model road safety state for the country with the participation of students, youth, celebrities, NGOs, corporates, media, public representatives, all government departments, and the judiciary, he said.

The DGP clarified that this campaign will specifically focus on dangerous habits such as not wearing helmets, especially by pillion riders, lack of seatbelt usage in front and rear seats, using mobile phones while driving, drunk driving, wrong-side driving, signal jumping, crossing the stop line, overloading of autos on highways, violation of meter and uniform regulations, high beam lights, and overtaking from the left side.

He stated that this campaign will be implemented at the district level under the leadership of the Police Commissioner or District SP, with the cooperation of district-level officers from all departments.

At the divisional level, it will be implemented by SDPOs, at the mandal level by CIs and SIs, and in villages through village traffic safety committees chaired by the Sarpanch, to create awareness among the public. He added that teachers, Anganwadi workers, youth, NCC representatives, auto drivers, tractor owners, and others will be made participants in this movement.

The DGP stated that during this 10-day campaign, special programs will be conducted focusing on defensive driving, students and youth, rural road safety, women and family safety, zero tolerance for drunk driving, celebrities and media, corporate and transport sectors, and voluntary organisations.

The police chief added that extensive awareness campaigns will be undertaken in collaboration with village assemblies, educational institutions, auto-rickshaws, RTC buses, private travel services, cab services, kite festivals, rangoli events, road campaigns, special measures at black spots, malls, markets, Rythu Bazaars, government offices, hospitals, companies, factories, religious organizations, SERP, and MEPMA groups.

Shivadhar Reddy revealed that he has instructed Police Commissioners and SPs to implement this 'Arrive Alive' movement uniformly and comprehensively across the state.

The DGP called upon everyone to work together to curb road accidents with the cooperation of the public and make Telangana a role model for road safety in the country.

- IANS