Udupi: “With the assistance of principal and correspondents of educational institutions, wearing of helmets will be made compulsory for students riding two-wheelers”, said Annamalai, District police superintendent of Udupi.
As per the rule any student with two-wheeler will not be allowed in the campus. “This is an initiative to control accidents among the students. All schools and colleges have agreed to this”, he added.
The rule aims at students, as every year in Udupi around 5 to 6 cases are reported where students lose their life.
“It has been constantly reported by the traffic police about triple and reckless riding by students. Flouting rules is common among them. Also the narrow and congested roads lead to accidents very often”, he informed.
“Until and unless governments issue an order to implement helmet compulsorily, we don’t have any power. Though as a District police superintendent, I take charge to prevent the vulnerable groups of the city and try my level best to implement these rules from my side. As and when the government order comes I will be happy to implement it”, he said.
By the end of this month, he said, students’ vehicles will be checked and given a sticker, stating that “This vehicle is checked by us, the person driving has all documents and he is not an enraged driver”.
Parallel to it, the government will be written to through the DC, that helmets must be made compulsory for all students in Udupi. The reason behind doing this is, he said, is the density of the schools and colleges that are high in the district. “As we have more number of schools and colleges compared to any other part of the state, it becomes all the more important to implement such rules”, he said.
By the end of this month 90% schools and colleges will be given programmes regarding the same. “Awareness programmes from our side and a circular will also be given to the students regarding the need of wearing helmets”, he added.
Karthik Rajagopal, a second year student of School of Communication said safety is more important than hanky panky styles. “I support the decision taken by the police and the management. Considering the roads in Manipal, helmet is a must. At the end of the day safety matters more”, he said.
Muhammed Sharuk, a CA Student from Kunjibettu said, “I have seen the video released by the police. It is very much meaningful and I compel all to wear helmets”, while another student of the school of communication, Aniruddh said that he would insist his own friends to wear a helmet and ride slow and safe. Speaking positively about the rule he said that it will be followed seriously if it is implemented by the police and management.
