HYDERABAD: It has been 17 years since Dilip Patro was paralysed and confined to a wheelchair. In 1997, he met with an accident when a motorcycle rammed and injured him grievously.
“I did not get help for four hours after the accident. And as I was being taken to a hospital my spine got damaged. Had I got immediate proper medical attention and was helped properly, I wouldn’t have been in this situation,” said Dilip.
Sameera, an employee, shared her story of how her life changed after losing her entire family in a road accident. Similarly, many victims of road accidents and their families came together at a programme conducted on the occasion of ‘World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims’ on Sunday.
The program was organised by Indian Federation of Road Safety (IFROS) in association with The Ability People, Safe Drive India and other organisations at People’s Plaza here.
“We have started observing this day from this year with the theme ‘Speed kills, Design out Speeding’. This day will be observed on every third Sunday of November in memory of the people who lost their lives in road accidents,” said Vinod Kumar K, founder, IFROS.
While narrating their experiences, the victims and family members explained how their lives would have been different if they or their family members did not meet with the accidents. They urged people to follow traffic rules to avoid accidents.
“I lost my son in an accident and now I am left with four daughters. Though my daughters are trying hard to secure a job, it would have been a huge support to us if our son did not meet with the accident,” said Andhutha, mother of the deceased C Anand Kumar.
T Raghunath, the transport commissioner, Hyderabad, GPN Prasad, Khairatabad RTO and other officials from transport department participated in the programme.