india

Updated: Aug 28, 2019 10:13 IST

Government officials in Jharkhand will not be allowed to enter their offices if found riding two-wheelers without a helmet under a new ‘no helmet, no entry’ initiative of the state’s transport department.

The department has directed all districts in the state to implement the order at the earliest.

“We have asked the districts to discourage the entry of the people, including officials, to government offices who come on a bike without a helmet. The districts were also directed to put up a ‘no helmet, no entry’ signage at every government office, including block and panchayat office,” joint transport commissioner (road safety) Ravi Shankar Vidyarthi said.

“Enforcement of helmet is quite good in cities. But the helmet order is hardly followed in rural areas. So, we wanted to make helmet mandatory for government officials in every office to create awareness among people. Our intention is to save people’s lives,” he said.

Data from the state transport department show 921 people died in motorcycle accidents in 2018 and 780 or 84% of them were not wearing a helmet.

“Irony is that people wear a helmet for the fear of the police, not for their safety. So, we thought to make helmet mandatory and start it from government offices,” Vidyarthi said.

The district transport department in Koderma implemented the order on Tuesday.

“We carried out a helmet checking drive at the district collectorate. Over 130 people, including around 100 government officials, were fined for not wearing a helmet, rash driving and triple riding,” Koderma’s district transport officer (DTO) Satish Singh said.

Singh said since it was the first day of implementing the order, they allowed people to enter their office after slapping them with a Rs 100 fine.

“We will continue the helmet checking drive till August 31 for spreading awareness among people. From September 1 onwards, strict action will be taken. Revised fines under the motor vehicle act will also come into effect from September 1. Then, we will realise Rs 1000 from them for not wearing a helmet,” Singh said.

The Jharkhand government recently made the purchase of two helmets mandatory before the registration of a two-wheeler at the transport office. The notification said buyers will have to present the receipt showing they bought the helmets before getting their vehicle registered.

“In order to save lives and make wearing helmets a habit, we have decided to make buying helmet mandatory before registration of their vehicles. The helmet should not be ordinary. It should fulfil the standards of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS),” joint transport commissioner Vidyarthi said.