Mangaluru: Social activist Jayaprakash Ekkur and three volunteers are gearing up to visit shops, homes and neighbourhoods along the Kuthar-Thokottu stretch on Sept 27 and Oct 4, interacting with residents and two-wheeler riders to raise awareness about helmet use.The team includes Pallavi, an MBA student, Nethra Kembar, a working woman, and Gagan, an engineering student. They aim to reach around 2,000 people over the two Sundays.Jayaprakash told TOI: “Several young people have lost their lives in road accidents, and helmetless riding has been a contributing factor in many such cases. We have also noticed many youngsters riding two-wheelers without helmets along the Kuthar-Thokottu stretch. Our sole intention is to create awareness about road safety and encourage riders to make helmet use a habit,” he said.The team will also distribute free lucky-dip tickets, with two helmets to be given away to the winners.Helmetless riding has been a long-standing concern for Jayaprakash. In 2023, he noticed a television actress riding a two-wheeler without a helmet in a serial. Concerned about the influence of such scenes on young viewers, he met the then Mangaluru City police commissioner and urged the police to take action, pointing to the potential impact of television portrayals on road-safety behaviour. After his complaint, police registered a case in Mangaluru and later transferred it to Bengaluru.
