Maharashtra, 20 August 2024: This Rakshabandhan, Pune Police, in collaboration with Schbang, launches a unique initiative to promote road safety, titled “Surakshe Chi Rakhi” – a specially designed rakhi that looks like a seatbelt. Pune’s women traffic police officers play a crucial role in this initiative by distributing these rakhis to safety offenders at traffic signals across the city. This campaign uses the festival’s theme of protection to promote seatbelt use and road safety, reminding citizens that true protection starts with self-safety.
Raksha Bandhan is a festival that symbolizes the promise of protection, traditionally exchanged between brothers and sisters. However, this campaign reimagines this sacred promise in the context of road safety, emphasizing that real protection begins with following essential traffic rules. In India, the importance of wearing seatbelts is often overlooked, resulting in a staggering number of road fatalities. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), 16,715 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2022 alone due to not wearing seatbelts. Maharashtra, which ranks second in road accident fatalities, is a significant focus of this campaign. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of fatality by 40-65% for front-seat passengers and 25-75% for those in the rear seats.
Through the “Surakshe Chi Rakhi” campaign and its specially designed seatbelt-inspired rakhi, Pune Police aims to address this issue by encouraging more drivers and passengers to buckle up in both Hindi and Marathi languages. The campaign aims to bring about a behavioral change among car drivers and passengers, emphasizing the life-saving importance of seatbelt use. By collaborating with Pune Police, the initiative seeks to reinforce the message that protecting oneself by wearing a seatbelt is the first step towards protecting loved ones.
The TVC opens with a female traffic cop stopping a driver who, in his rush forgot to wear his seatbelt. Expecting a bribe, the driver is surprised when the officer ties a seatbelt-style rakhi on his wrist instead, reminding him that only by staying safe can he protect others. The film concludes with the message: “Happy and Safe Raksha Bandhan – Pune Traffic Police dwara janhit mein jaari.”
In addition to Raksha Bandhan, female traffic cops from Pune Police distribute specially designed seatbelt rakhis to drivers at specific signals across the city.
Harshil Karia, Founder, Schbang expressed, “Our creatives, Ratnadeep and Mohammed, have brilliantly captured the essence of this campaign with the simple yet powerful insight that a seatbelt is the best Rakhi gift a woman traffic police officer can give to citizens, symbolizing protection and care. Kudos to them for conceptualizing this idea, and a special shout-out to Ratnadeep for his efforts in ensuring Pune Police’s enthusiastic participation in bringing this initiative to life.”
As the city of Pune prepares to celebrate Rakshabandhan, the “Surakshe Chi Rakhi” campaign serves as a timely reminder that the actual essence of protection resides in proactive measures to maintain road safety.