Sopore, Jan 22: In a bid to promote road safety and to curb violations, national athletes Thursday joined the Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) in Baramulla for an awareness campaign.
ARTO Baramulla, Mudasir Wani, said that the event was aimed to educate the people on regulations to prevent accidents.
Citing government data, he revealed that over 28,000 accidents occurred in the last five years in J&K, claiming around 4,000 lives due to traffic violations.
“We took along some national athletes for this road show to make people aware of traffic rules and minimize the violations and accidents,” Wani added.
He said that over 50 lakh challans have been issued so far in the district. “Yet despite awareness campaigns, people still resort to violations like not wearing seat belts or helmets.”
Urging students to spread the message, Baramulla ARTO identified over speeding as a major cause of accidents and warned habitual offenders to avoid violations or face strict legal action.
On the occasion, national athlete Ulfat Mushtaq, who recently brought glory to J&K in cycling at the Khelo India Asmita League, urged the crowd to follow traffic rules and adhere to road safety guidelines. Ulfat was joined by others including Mehak Mushtaq, Sofiya Hilal, Sobiya Manzoor and others—(KNO)
