Voice Outreach
Road safety
The Consumer Voice team along with state partners organised Road Safety Week from 1 to 7 February on the theme ‘ 5 Days, 5 Pledges’. The event was focused on sensitisation of various stakeholders including the masses, the media, and the policymakers, so as to garner support for the early passage of the Motor Vehicles Amendment (MVA) Bill, 2017.
These five ‘risk’ aspects were highlighted during the Road Safety Week: 1) seatbelts and child restraints; 2) speeding; 3) helmet; 4) drinking and driving; and 5) electronic braking system and airbags. Workshops were organised by state partners in Assam (Guwhati), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow), NCR (Noida), Chandigarh and Haryana (Panchkula). There were interactions with various stakeholders including students, consumers, victims, civil society organisations, identified champions, media persons, and traffic police, focusing on the five risk factors, road safety in India, and the need for early passage of the MVA Bill.
Uttar Pradesh
Consumer Voice in collaboration with state partner Consumer Guild organised the event at Lucknow. The campaign concluded with a press meet that witnessed the participation of Ashutosh Soti, president of Shubham Soti Foundation; Major Ashish Chaturvedi; Pratyush Chaubey, advocate, High Court; Abhishek Srivastava, chairman, Consumer Guild; and Ms Rinki Sharma, head projects, Consumer Voice New Delhi.
Chandigarh and Panchkula
Here, the state partner was Citizen Awareness Group. The programme was held at different academic institutions. Among the prominent guests and speakers were Jagwinder Singh, Paralympic cyclist; Mrs Upinder Walia, mayor, Municipal Corporation, Panchkula; and Mrs Sushma Khanna, MD, Women Welfare Trust. The press conference was held in the presence of Vivek Atrey, former deputy commissioner, Panchkula, and Hemant Upadhyay from Consumer Voice.
Assam
At the event organised with state partner Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum (CLPF), participants included Nava Thakuria, secretary, Guwahati Press Club, and eminent journalist Ranen Goswami. More than 400 participants attended the Road Safety Week programme.
National Capital Region
Along with state partner Bhartiya Manav Kalyan Samiti, Consumer Voice organised Road Safety Week in Noida and Ghaziabad.