Noida traffic police distribute helmets on Raksha Bandhan

Traffic police are also distributing helmets for the safety of women who were found riding without wearing helmets

The Noida traffic police on Monday distributed helmets to men and women travelling together on two-wheelers who were found flouting traffic rules, as it observed the Raksha Bandhan festival as a “No challan day” to spread awareness about safety, officers said. Not only men, even women on the two-wheelers who were flouting rules were gifted the helmets.

Apart from distributing helmets, Noida traffic police also observed a “no challan day” on Monday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The drive that aimed to give away about 1,000 helmets was held at various junctions of the city in the presence of deputy commissioner of police (traffic).

“On Raksha Bandhan, women travel from one place to another to meet their brothers and family members. To facilitate this, we are observing “No challan day” on Monday because they will not feel good if they are stopped on the way and issued challans,” said DCP (Noida, traffic) Yamuna Prasad, adding that they also exempted issuing challans to people accompanying women for the day.

“Traffic police are also distributing helmets for the safety of women who were found riding without wearing helmets,” the DCP added. He joined the drive in Sector 37 , and raised awareness about adherence to traffic rules in the city. Till 4pm, the traffic police distributed about 800 helmets, officers said.

The officer, however, clarified that the “No challan day” was only for women, and the men who accompanied women. “We have deployed traffic police personnel in Noida and Greater Noida. Traffic police personnel were also alerted to keep an eye on rash driving, speeding and drunk driving, etc. If someone was caught violating the rule, challans were issued as ‘no challan day was a gift to women to facilitate them in travel without any hurdle,” he added.

Swati Gupta, who was heading to Mayur Vihar in Delhi, from Noida, to celebrate the festival, said, “I forgot to wear a helmet in a hurry. I was worried that traffic cops would issue a challan. But when I came to know that they (traffic police) were not here to issue challans on Raksha Bandhan, it was a huge relief. A challan would have spoiled my day. I also got a helmet. I will never forget my helmet at home as it is for our own safety.”

According to the official statistics, 890,928 e-challans were issued for riding two-wheelers without wearing helmets from January to June 2024 in Gautam Budh Nagar district