Bhubaneswar: The Transport Department’s Junior Rakshak program was inaugurated today in the capital city, Bhubaneswar. The training camp was inaugurated by the Principal Secretary, Usha Padhi. A total of 540 girl NCC cadets are being trained over two days. These cadets will receive recognition from the Transport Department as ‘Junior Rakshaks’.
During the camp, the cadets will be trained in road safety and first aid for road accident victims. Master trainers Sadhana Satapathy and Jyotiranjan Mohapatra provided the training. Emphasis was placed on the ‘Golden Hour’ the first hour after an accident, which is crucial for saving lives. Training included methods of providing first aid and ensuring timely transportation to hospitals. Additionally, the Junior Rakshaks will act as brand ambassadors for road safety, promoting awareness within their families and communities.
This collaborative effort between the Transport Department and NCC aims to reduce road accident fatalities. The success of the earlier Rakshak program has led to the expansion of this initiative to include Junior Rakshaks. An MoU was signed between the Transport Department and NCC on March 6 at Lok Seva Bhavan, targeting the training of 32,000 NCC cadets across the state this year. In the first phase, 575 NCC cadets were trained in Puri on May 18.
Speaking at the event, Principal Secretary Usha Padhi emphasized the importance of reducing road accidents and fatalities, stating that this should be a common goal for all. She expressed confidence in the NCC cadets’ commitment to road safety. The program also saw the presence of State Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur, Additional Transport Commissioner (Enforcement) Lalmohan Sethy, Joint Transport Commissioner (Road Safety) Pradeep Kumar Mahanty, STA Secretary Chinmayee Biswal and NCC Group Commander Satyabrata Swain. The training sessions included screenings of short films on road safety awareness.
