Rajouri, Sep 11: Traffic Police Rural Jammu, in collaboration with Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School Rajouri on Friday organized a symposium on the topic “Right to mobility comes with the responsibility to follow Traffic rules,” here at the school premises.
The event formed part of ongoing 02-week Awareness -cum-Enforcement Drive against traffic violations involving two-wheelers. As many as 600 students and 60 teachers participated in the programme.
At the outset, the Principal of the School Mohammad Muslim Wani welcomed the SSP and other guests. The stage proceedings were conducted by Sr. Lecturer Fazal Hussain.
Dy-SP Traffic Rajouri-Poonch Ajaz Ahmed highlighted the broad idea behind holding the drive, which he said was to generate awareness about road safety, promote responsible road-user behaviour and foster a strong sense of responsibility towards preventing road accidents and saving lives among students and the community. He urged the students to become ambassadors of road safety and contribute actively towards creating safer roads and communities.
Interacting with the students, the SSP discussed the prevailing scenario of road accidents and their major causes. He emphasized the importance of observing traffic rules, responsible driving and developing a strong sense of civic responsibility among young people.
He gave a presentation, protecting the local accident data which formed the basis for initiating this drive.
As per the presentation, 699 accidents have taken place between January to July, 2026 in the four Districts of Rajouri, Poonch, Samba and Kathua in which 88 persons were killed and 1001 were injured.
However, an alarming trend is the fact that out of 699 accidents, 309 i.e. 44% are those in which two-wheelers are involved. Further, out of 88 dead, 39 are those who were either driving or riding a two-wheeler. Moreover, 27% of the victims are below 25 years of age.
The SSP also shared a personal connection with the institution, being an alumnus of Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School Rajouri.
Recalling his association with the school, he said that returning to his alma mater in the capacity of SSP Traffic Rural Jammu was a matter of pride and added significance to the road-safety awareness initiative. He encouraged the students to uphold the values of discipline and responsibility associated with their institution and to become ambassadors of road safety in their families and communities
The symposium was judged by a panel comprising Uma Gupta (Sr. Lecturer), Subash Sharma (Sr. Lecturer) and Amir Choudhary (Physical Education Lecturer), who evaluated the performances of the participating students.
The School Principal stressed the need for greater youth engagement in promoting road safety awareness. He underscored that road safety is a shared responsibility and called upon students to follow traffic rules diligently and encourage others to do the same.
Muneer Zabar, Mohd Owais and Sohail Murtaza secured the first, second and third positions, respectively. The winners were felicitated with mementos in recognition of their outstanding performances by SSP Traffic Rural Jammu. Besides, mementos were also presented to the Principal and Jury members in recognition of their gracious support in organizing the programme.
Moreover, road counselling sessions were also held at different locations for two-wheeler riders without enforcing challans. In a unique initiative, two wheelers’ riders were stopped and made to sit in a canopy where officers of Traffic Police sensitized them about the need for road safety, in particular reference to the local data. People appreciated this idea where rather than enforcing challans a violator, they were made aware about road safety.
The successful conduct of the symposium and road counseling sessions reflected the commitment of Traffic Police Rural Jammu towards fostering road safety awareness, creating civic responsibility and ensuring meaningful youth participation in matters of road safety, along with Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School Rajouri.
