Nagpur: A few days after TOI highlighted the neglected condition of the Children’s Traffic Park in Dharampeth, the venue witnessed a renewed sense of purpose on Tuesday, with city-based NGO Janakrosh organising a road safety awareness programme for school students.Janakrosh relaunched the park’s ‘traffic model’ and conducted hands-on training for around 80 students from Mundle English Medium School. Through miniature road intersections, traffic signals, zebra crossings, stop lines and mock accident-prone situations, students were introduced to traffic rules in an interactive setting.The initiative comes at a time when Nagpur continues to grapple with rising road accidents and traffic violations, underscoring the need to inculcate road safety habits from a young age. The Children’s Traffic Park, developed by NMC in 2009 as an experiential learning space, gradually lost its educational value over the years due to poor maintenance, damaged infrastructure and encroachments. TOI, in a recent report, highlighted the park’s deterioration and the urgent need to restore it as a centre for road safety education.
children traffic park
Sitabuldi traffic PI Nitin Patange, head constable Atul Agarkar, Blind Relief Association and Mundle English Medium School president Makarand Pandharipande, secretary Ravindra Kaskhedikar and Dr Pravin Lad were among those present during the programme.Speaking on the occasion, Janakrosh president Prakash Khandekar said road safety education should begin at an early age and practical demonstrations leave a lasting impression on children. He said the traffic model was designed to help students understand real-life traffic situations in a safe environment while reviving the original purpose of the Traffic Park.As part of the programme, students took a pledge to follow traffic rules and participated in an interactive road safety quiz titled ‘Kaun Banega Roadpati,’ conducted by Dnyanesh Pahune.Traffic Park is currently undergoing renovation, with ₹1 crore sanctioned by Union minister Nitin Gadkari under the MPLADS scheme. Renovation of the hall and garden is underway, while organisers announced that weekly road safety awareness sessions for schools will now be held at the venue to transform the park back into a vibrant learning space.Lalit Tapase coordinated the event, Sandeep Agrawal compered the programme, Rajiv Sanghai delivered the introductory remarks, and Prashant Mendhe proposed the vote of thanks. Several Janakrosh members and volunteers were also present.
