LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh’s transport department on Tuesday directed all district magistrates and chairpersons of district road safety committees to impose a strict ban on scenes in films, commercials or television series that show violation of road safety rules. The department said the order has been issued considering the large number of deaths and grievous injuries due to road accidents each year.

In an official statement, UP transport commissioner K Ravindra Naik said such videos and publicity material tend to have an adverse impact on viewers, especially youths, and must be banned to the curb the tendency to flout road safety norms.

The order, which comes into effect immediately, means district magistrates will now monitor content being beamed into homes via the direct-to-home or cable operator route.

The government said “objectionable” content will be banned locally and where this is not possible, it will make a pitch for a clampdown at “higher” levels.