Nagpur: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday recounted an episode involving Amitabh Bachchan to underline the importance of civic responsibility, revealing that the Bollywood legend, at the age of 83, recently continued shooting for a road safety campaign despite suffering a hairline fracture in his hand, without charging any fee. Bachchan sought medical treatment only after completing the event, said the minister. Speaking at the 14th foundation day of Jan Akrosh in Nagpur, Gadkari said Bachchan sustained a hand injury after a fall while exercising just two days prior to the shoot. “Despite pain, he continued with the shooting the whole day since it was related to a road safety event with me. Only after the shoot, he informed me that he would go for an X-ray, which later turned out to be a hairline fracture. This shows his social sensitivity, consciousness and responsibility — without taking any money,” Gadkari said. Gadkari urged citizens and elected representatives to show similar commitment towards road safety. He called upon corporators to take responsibility for ensuring zero fatalities in their respective prabhags by identifying accident-prone spots and implementing necessary safety measures. He also stressed the need to monitor school transport systems to protect children.The minister said India reports around 5 lakh road accidents annually, leading to nearly 1.8 lakh deaths. He pointed out that 50,000 deaths occur due to not wearing helmets and 30,000 due to not using seat belts, while a significant 65% of victims fall in the 18-44 age group. “Every year, 10,000 to 12,000 children die while crossing roads near schools. Families are destroyed when they lose their loved ones. Even during wars or Covid, casualties were not this high,” he said. The minister also spoke about the ‘Rah Veer’ initiative, under which Good Samaritans helping accident victims are awarded Rs25,000, while the govt provides up to Rs1.5 lakh for treatment expenses. He added that targeted interventions have helped reduce fatalities by nearly 50% in some districts and emphasised that stricter enforcement and awareness can help save at least 50,000 lives annually.Lauding Jan Akrosh for its efforts in promoting road safety, including training thousands of schoolchildren, Gadkari said, “The organisation will now train more children at Traffic Park.”
