Kids sketch and compile cartoon book on road safety

They say learning begins at an early age and things learnt in childhood are often remembered. Just so that children learn the concept of 'road safety' at an early age, a unique cartoon book 'Let's Sketch for Road Safety' will be launched by Amitabh Bachchan. The inauguration ceremony of 'Road Safety Week' will be held on January 9 at NCPA, Mumbai.

The event will be chaired by Amitabh Bachchan, Swadhin Kshatriya, Chief Secretary Maharashtra Sudhir Shrivastava, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), DGP Satish Mathur, Commissioner of Police Datta Padsalgikar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Milind Bharambe among other dignitaries.

Anil Kumbhare, Deputy Commissioner of Police, speaking about the event and the road safety week, said, "This time our agenda will be to spread awareness on 'no walking while talking over phone' and 'no helmet-less driving' among other instructions. There will be presentations on road safety. Besides this, there will also be flash mobs, bike rallies and street plays throughout the week.

'Let's Sketch for Road Safety' is a compilation of cartoons by children focusing on key road safety messages like: never sit or hide behind a parked vehicle, always use zebra crossing, etc. The illustrations will be used to create awareness about road safety amongst children. This cartoon book is the brainchild of Safe Kids Foundation, a foundation that works with children in schools and colleges to raise awareness about road safety and its importance.

The foundation had organised a cartoon workshop and discussion session for 18 children of The East Bombay Bharat Scouts and Guides District Association with Manish Rangnekar, a practicing architect and professor of architecture. The children were introduced to sketching and were asked to highlight various aspects of road safety. These 18 children were then trained to create these cartoons.

"Cartoons are a way to get children interested in the topic. Involving children is the best way to raise awareness in the community. If children, who are innocent and naive can highlight these issues, we too can. They will remember these cartoons rather than a classroom talk on road safety," said Rupa Kothari, Founder of Safe Kids Foundation.