Hon. MP Kirron Kher and Actress Puja Talwar lend their support to Diageo India’s Road to Safety Programme

28 Apr 2018 | Press release

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  • Panel discussion to create awareness on Road Safety in India
  • Over 100 Chandigarh residents pledge their support for the cause of road safety

Chandigarh, April 28, 2018: On the occasion of National Road Safety week, Diageo India, in partnership with NDTV hosted a panel discussion today in Elante Mall, Chandigarh. The discussion saw participation from Kirron Kher, Hon’ble Member of Lok Sabha, actress, Puja Talwar, Bollywood actress and Navdeep Singh Mehram – General Manager, Sustainability, Diageo India; who pledged to ‘Never Drink and Drive’.

Recent government statistics reveal the appalling state of road safety in the country, bringing to light the astonishing data of 1 road accident occurring every four minutes in India. With over 1,45,000 fatalities a year, India accounts for 12.5% of global road accidents. The United Nations mentions that India suffers a loss of $58 billion annually due to accidents.

To address the sharp rise of road accidents across the country, the guests at the panel discussed critical issues affecting the safety of Indian citizens on roads when travelling within the cities and national highways. Participants also deliberated on increasing number of deaths on national highways due to irresponsible driving and on the menace of Drunk Driving, emphasising on the need to strengthen the licensing mechanism and educate the youth about responsible consumption of drinking.

Commenting on the initiative, Kirron Kher, Hon’ble Member of Lok Sabha and actress said, “It is heartening to receive the support of the private sector to address such an important issue impacting the lives of Indians. We laud the commitment of Diageo for sensitizing Indians especially the youth towards maintaining road safety in India. With this, I also urge every Indian citizen to abide by traffic rules and to Never Drink and Drive. This will go a long way to help the government reduce road accidents by at least 50 per cent, during this decade.”

Commenting on the initiative, Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Chief Strategy & Corporate Affairs Officer, United Spirits, said “At Diageo, we are committed to reducing alcohol misuse by championing the cause of road safety across the country. Our Road to Safety initiative currently in its fourth year has been able to achieve significant success owing strong partnerships with the Government, NGOs, media and civil society. I am confident that through consistent and collaborative industry efforts, we will be able to drastically reduce the number of road fatalities.”

In support of the World Health Organisation’s goal to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by 10 per cent by 2025, Diageo has a strong and multi-dimensional ‘Road to Safety’ initiative which endeavours to bring collective consciousness around responsible drinking, road safety and, encourage road users especially the youth to ‘Never Drink and Drive.’