Navi Mumbai cops aim to reduce fatalities with helmet policy

In less than nine months after the ‘No helmet, no entry’ policy was introduced by the Navi Mumbai traffic department, as many as 37,000 employees of public and private

In less than nine months after the ‘No helmet, no entry’ policy was introduced by the Navi Mumbai traffic department, as many as 37,000 employees of public and private offices who travel to their workplace on two-wheelers, are now wearing helmets, officers said.

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According to the city traffic department, this is for the first time that a policy introduced by any traffic department in Maharashtra has ensured that such a large number of bikers wear helmets while travelling to work.

“We are glad that in less than nine months, the policy has been implemented in 104 public and private organisations, including big corporate firms. More than 80,000 people work in these organisations, of which around, 37,000 come to work on two-wheelers. All of them now wear helmets while commuting to work. This is happening for the first time in the state,” said Sunil Lokhande, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).

On March 19, the traffic department had introduced the ‘No helmet, no entry’ policy for the first time at a private company, Gigaplex Estate Pvt Ltd at Airoli.

Navi Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Kumar had officially announced that if employees of the firm, coming to work on a two-wheeler fail to wear a helmet, they will not be allowed to enter the office compound and would be sent back home from the main entrance itself and will be marked absent for the day.

Lokhande said the objective behind introducing the policy was to ensure that people wear helmets, thereby reducing the fatalities owing to accidents.

“We are not enforcing the policy on any organisation. But we do suggest senior officials of many organisations to implement the policy. If they are willing to implement it, our personnel visit their offices and explain the policy to all their employees in detail, following which, it is implemented from the very next day,” said Lokhande.

The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) and the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) headquarters, police headquarters, Konkan Bhavan, Raigad Bhavan, police commissioner’s office, Panvel City Municipal Corporation (NMMC) office have implemented the policy.

S Patil, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), said, “Though the number of organisations which have implemented the policy is definitely good, we will keep trying to get remaining organisations to follow suit. It will make a huge difference in terms of road safety if every organisation implements the policy.”

Navi Mumbai residents have welcomed the initiative.

Vinayak More, 37, a public works department (PWD) official who works at Konkan Bhavan at CBD Belapur, said, “Ever since the policy has been implemented in our office, the employees ride to office wearing helmets. The good thing is that many of us now wear helmets out of habit, even if we go to any other place for our personal work.”

Gopal Singh, 29, an employee with an IT firm at Mahape MIDC, makes sure to wear helmet every day while commuting.

“CCTV cameras have been installed at the entrance of our office. If any biker is spotted entering the compound without wearing helmet, he is summoned by the seniors and asked for an explanation. He is also marked absent for that day. Now, all of us follow the helmet rule,” he added.