Thiruvananthapuram: Certain officials at the Police Headquarters (PHQ) here are reportedly trying to stall the traffic safety awareness campaign launched by Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan this year.

The key attraction of the road show is a short play staged by policemen. The actors use attractive stage props, comical movements and a witty script to convey that traffic rules are meant for the protection of road users. The play, which is aimed at instilling a civic sense among road users, has been staged in 87 schools so far. Forty other educational institutions have invited the police to stage the show for the benefit of their parents, teachers and students.

The skit emphasises the dangers of drunken driving, walking on the wrong side of the road, speaking on the mobile phone while driving, underage driving and overtaking through the left side. These are the major road accident causing factors in the State, according to the traffic police.

At a time when the State Government is considering making road safety awareness and traffic rules part of the school curriculum, an Assistant Inspector General of Police attached to the PHQ seems not to have been impressed by the popularity of the show. He has issued orders repatriating most of the principal actors of the skit to their home units, despite a PHQ order assigning them for the stage play.

In one extreme case, the officer allegedly withheld for two months the salary of three policemen involved in the staging of the play. The policemen are not given any extra allowance for staging the play, which is physically very demanding on the actors. The actors often subsist on the refreshments served by their hosts. If the performance is 35 km outside the city, the constables will get Rs.40 each as travel allowance.

The `mobile museum' mounted on an old police bus is another key attraction of the show. Inside the museum, schoolchildren are exposed to United Nations posters on road safety and a multi-media presentation on safe road behaviour. Manoj Abraham, Kochi City Police Commissioner, had scripted the programme. At the inaugural function, Mr. Balakrishnan had said that the show should benefit citizens and students in all parts of the State. The play is to be staged at the Government Secretariat soon. The actors are hoping that Mr. Balakrishnan would help their public cause.

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