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Patit Pavan Sanghatana conducts poll, 2,838 punekars say no to helmets

Hindustan Times, Pune | ByPrachi Bari
Jan 17, 2019 04:53 PM IST

According to their poll, 2,838 people rejected the idea of helmet rule while 1,071 people agreed to wear helmets and 98 were undecided

Patit Pavan Sanghatana (PPS), the 40-year-old social organisation, claim that 2,838 Punekars are against the helmet rule - made compulsory by the Pune traffic police on January 1 - being implemented. PPS’s opinion poll was conducted from January 7 to 11 and the results were announced on January 16.

According to their poll, 2,838 people rejected the idea of helmet rule while 1,071 people agreed to wear helmets and 98 were undecided. “We had undertaken a poll in areas like Modern College, Shivaji Nagar, Bharti Vidyapeeth, Kothrud, Lokmanya Tilak statue in Mandai, Wadia College, Near Pune Station and at Fergusson College, Deccan. We had given them voting chits with three options and had a total of 4,007 people voting,” said Shrikant Shilimkar, member of the Patit Pavan Sanghatana, Pune city branch.

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According to the members, “There is no need to make helmet rule compulsory, nor is it necessary for the roads in Pune city are very narrow and the two wheelers usually ply at a speed of 20 kmph within the city,” said Manoj Nair, another member of the group.

“We are not against wearing the helmet but we are against the police making it compulsory and forcing people to wear one. And if caught without one, the police are also fining people, that is objectionable,” added Shilimkar, “We simply don’t want the police to force people to wear helmets and this poll that we conducted shows what Punekars want. Instead if the police and the PMC concentrate on pedestrians and create better footpaths, that would be an important step in saving lives.”

The Patit Pavan Sanghatana plans to take their findings and approach the Pune Police as well as guardian minister Girish Bapat for further dialogue.

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