KEONJHAR: After the success of helmet-less riders being denied petrol refill in several parts of the State, Maa Tarini Temple at Ghatagaon in Keonjhar district has come up with a unique idea for enforcing the use of helmets. The priests of the temple and trust members have decided not to perform vehicle puja if the two-wheeler owner does not bring an helmet with him/her.
Informing this, president of the trust board Rajendra Kumar Pattanayak said several two-wheeler riders, both old and new, come to the temple to seek Maa's blessings for their new vehicle but most them do not carry helmets. "At least 50 vehicles are brought to the temple daily for puja and focusing on the mandatory use of helmets we decided to create awareness regarding road safety."
Keonjhar SP Jayanarayan Pankaj, Ghatagaon SDPO Silverious Toppe, Local sarpanch Annapurna Dehury and trust board member Anand Chandra Singh were present.Informing about the casualties in road accidents in the district, Pankaj said nearly 350 people were killed in 2017, one of the highest in Odisha. Taking the casualties seriously, Keonjhar police has taken several measures to reduce road accident. In such a scenario, this initiative taken by Maa Tarini temple trust is praiseworthy, he added.