The Hindu : New Delhi News : Sending road safety message through dancers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 04, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Sending road safety message through dancers

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 3. What has Russian ballet and contemporary dance to do with road safety? Lots, if the organisers of the Perfect Health Parade, which will be held here on Sunday, are to be believed. The Heart Care Foundation of India today roped in Russian dancers to send a message among drivers - that they need to have flexible bodies.

The parade, to be organised by the Foundation in collaboration with the Delhi Traffic Police, Delhi Medical Association, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, will start from Mool Chand Hospital and would cover a distance of nearly 40 kms passing through Lajpat Nagar, Ashram, Nizamuddin, Bhogal, Lodhi Hotel, Bharati Nagar, Khan Market, Pandara Road, Purana Qila Road, Sunder Nagar, Pragati Maidan, ITO, Delhi Gate, Daryaganj and will terminate at the Lal Qila. The Delhi Health Minister, Yoganand Shastri, will flag off the parade and the guest list includes the famous Kuchipudi exponent, Raja and Radha Reddy.

Explaining the co-relation between these dancers and road safety, Mr. Aggarwal said: "Whether it is Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Salsa or Russian dance, the commonness among all these is flexibility. To ensure that Delhi drivers have flexible bodies, they need to undergo a medical examination to ascertain whether they are fit or not. If they are found fit only then they should be recommended for a driving licence, otherwise not."

This Russian dance comprised aerobics and the youth, Dr. Aggarwal asserted, need to do aerobics. For driving, concentration, mind-body coordination, correct eyesight and the ability to distinguish between red and green colour are essential pre-requisites, he added.

Acknowledging that physical fitness was of paramount concern, Mr. Aggarwal said: "Drunken driving leads to death. A driver who has taken a single peg should drive only after one hour. If he has consumed two pegs then he should be driving after two hours. This check is necessary to avoid accidents."

Expressing concern over the high-rate of road accidents on the Capital roads, Mr. Ramesh Kapoor, Assistant Commissioner of Police, (Road Safety), said cyclists should wear helmets to avoid fatal head injuries and whether an elderly man or youngster becomes a victim to road accident then the loss is equivalent to Rs.2 billion.

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