Bhubaneswar: A day after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik allowed a three-month breather for motorists and focused on sensitising the public pertaining to the new provisions of MV (Amendment) Act 2019, twin city Commissionerate Police was seen giving away helmets to traffic rule violators Tuesday.
The cops led by traffic DCP Sagarika Nath and traffic ACP Kishore Panigrahy were seen distributing helmets to riders without them against a challan of Rs 500 each at Kalpana square in Bhubaneswar. A similar drive was held at Madhupatna square of Cuttack as well.
Apart from helmets, the DCP along with her team could be seen giving flowers, chocolates, awareness cards to traffic rule-abiding commuters in a bid to encourage safe driving.
“We are conducting awareness drives at important junctions in both the cities in the first phase. Later, it will be expanded to other areas. The MV Act is not a revenue generating exercise. Awareness and safety of public are our aim,” Nath said.
She further added that the cops are prioritising only five aspects during checking. Drunk driving, usage of mobile phones during driving, driving on wrong side of road, triple riding and non-usage of protective devices such as helmets and seat belts rank highly during the checks as directed by the police DG, she said.