Ghatagaon/Dhenkikote: In a bid to promote road safety, an awareness drive ‘no helmet, no puja’ was launched at the famous Ghatagaon Tarini shrine in Keonjhar district Saturday. SP Jai Narayan Pankaj launched the drive at 11am.
The step has been taken up amid reports of growing number of road accidents in the mineral-rich district. Keonjhar police and members of the Tarini Temple Trust held a meeting where the participants raised serious concern over road mishaps in the district, the highest in the state. Accidents on the National Highway-20 are reported almost every day.
Thousands of new bikes come to the temple on a daily basis for puja. It was seen often that most bikers do not use helmets, a basic safety measure.
The district police have been conducting massive awareness drives at all vital points of the NH-20 and other places. With this new campaign, the owners of new bikes will be more conscious of using helmets.
The SP termed the drive as an auspicious beginning for bikers. Speaking on the occasion, temple trust chairman Rajendra Patnaik said many bikers are reluctant to wear helmets, thereby risking their lives. “From now on, puja will not be performed for a biker if s/he turns up to the temple without wearing a helmet. This system will force the bikers to cultivate a habit of wearing helmets,” he added.