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Monday Musings: Why is BJP opposing road safety in Pune?
At one end is union minister Nitin Gadkari who is campaigning for road safety and at the other is the Pune BJP opposing safety helmets
None other than senior BJP leader and Pune’s member of parliament, Anil Shirole has opposed Pune Police in enforcing the compulsory helmet rule for two wheeler riders. This, from a political party which claims to be disciplined and law-abiding and whose own union minister, Nitin Gadkari, has been campaigning for road safety in India.
Shirole has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging him to direct Pune Police not to enforce the rule strictly. His view is that helmets should not be made mandatory and the matter should be left to the personal choice of two-wheeler riders. He has supported the classic Puneri argument that there are many people who have suffered “medical issues” after using helmets.
Like Shirole, there are other Pune politicians such as NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakade, senior city Congressman and Lok Sabha-aspirant Mohan Joshi who are in agreement with Shirole.
Rather ironically, consumer rights activist Suryakant Pathak, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, is also with these politicians on this issue. Recently, he and others organised a two-wheeler protest rally to the Pune Police Commissionerate with the riders wearing the Puneri Pagdi instead of helmets.
All of this is rather ridiculous because the scientific evidence in favour of enhanced safety due to helmets is unquestionable. It is also ridiculous because using helmets is mandatory as per the law which is being smoothly implemented in a number of prominent cities, including the national capital.
A lot of science and technology has gone into designing and manufacturing safety helmets which can withstand high impact and offer protection to the most vital part of our body which is the brain. This stands established beyond doubt and it is inconceivable to ride without helmets in developed countries.
Pune’s politicians, including the BJP MP, need to take note of some revealing statistics presented by Pune Police: In 2018, 182 two-wheeler riders of the 253 killed in fatal road accidents, were found without helmets and 359 others suffered serious injuries. We don’t know how many of those 359 suffered head injuries which may have resulted in serious complications such as coma, loss of vision, facial disfigurement and injury to the brain.
Think of the enormous anguish, emotional and financial losses suffered by the families of those killed and maimed because of helmetless-driving.
Even as the politicians have been opposing the use of helmets on Pune’s roads, the media has been reporting on helmet-less riders dying in accidents on the city roads.
This newspaper has been consistently urging for the use of helmets by two-wheeler riders and we have presented the views of many experts, including intensivists in the ICUs at city hospitals urging people to use helmets. After their remorseful, bitter experiences, many helmet-less victims and family members of the victims have themselves turned into public campaigners for the use of helmets.
The opposition by Pune’s politicians to the mandatory use of helmets suggests that they are insensitive; do not care for the safety of two-wheeler riders and are only interested in pandering to ignorant sections of society. This is quite shameful for Pune.
