People urged to follow traffic rules, safety measures

Chittoor: On the occasion of the month-long 36th National Road safety, a walkathon was held in the city on Wednesday to create awareness on traffic regulations to prevent accidents.

Chittoor MLA Gurajala Jagan Mohan, Collector Sumit Kumar, CHUDA chairman Katari Hemalatha, ASP Rajasekhar Raju, DTP Nirajan Reddy and others participated. The walkathon started at Darga Circle and concluded at Gandhi statue.

Speaking on the occasion, MLA Gurajala said thousands of families were suffering after the breadwinner dies in accidents. Strict adherence to traffic rules and following safety measures like wearing helmets would save lives. The people should cooperate with the police by adhering to traffic norms.

The State government, the MLA said on its part has taken several methods for road safety and to prevent accidents. In Chittoor town, the civic administration has taken up road widening works to ease traffic congestion and people should extend their support for the widening of the roads for the convenience of all and also smooth flow of traffic.District Collector Sumit Kumar said in the last 3 years, 350 people died while in the last one year itself, 120 deaths were reported which is very much concerning.

Sadly most of the persons who died were young and 50% of the accidents were related to two-wheelers. These accidents can be prevented by strictly following the traffic rules.

The district administration on the occasion of the month-long road safety programme, has taken up series of programmes including strengthening the safety measures on the national highways, creating awareness among the public on road safety and also holding awareness meetings.

The officials have been organising meetings in the colleges to bring awareness among the youth on the need to follow traffic regulations for road safety.