Hyderabad Commissioner urges citizens not to come out on roads to celebrate birthdays

Hyderabad, Oct 9 (IANS) Following the death of a six-year-old girl and her relative during her birthday celebrations on Tank Bund in the wee hours of Monday, Hyderabad Police Commissioner on Friday appealed to people not to come out on the roads at midnight to celebrate birthdays.

Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said on Friday that there should be no birthday celebrations or cake cuttings on Tank Bund or other roads.

“Don’t come onto the roads at midnight and put lives at risk. We appeal to the city’s residents, especially the youth and parents, not to hold birthday celebrations or cake cuttings at midnight hours near Tank Bund, as well as the city’s major roads, lakes, and parks,” he said in a video message.

The police chief said it was heartbreaking that birthday celebrations, which should be joyful, end up leaving families with irreparable grief due to momentary recklessness and negligence.

“Just three days ago, at 2 a.m., a six-year-old child and a family member met a tragic end on her birthday due to a road accident on Tank Bund, which has deeply shaken everyone. Even though our staff rushed to the accident site immediately, transported the injured to the hospital, and made every possible effort to save lives, we couldn’t prevent the loss,” said Sajjanar.

“To ensure such incidents don’t recur in the future, we conducted an inspection of the accident-prone area on Tank Bund in collaboration with senior police officials, taking firm preventive measures. We also carried out a comprehensive review across various government departments on the accidents occurring there.

“We make it clear that a birthday is a personal family celebration and should only be held at homes or in any safe enclosed areas. Since there’s no pedestrian traffic on roads at midnight, vehicles speed by uncontrollably. Everyone must realise that bringing young children along and stepping onto the middle of the road at such times is utterly unwise.

“In fact, holding such celebrations on Tank Bund is completely prohibited under the regulations. GHMC has already issued clear orders on this in the past,” the Police Commissioner said.

The top cop said though police personnel continuously patrol and disperse those who come to Tank Bund, these tragedies keep repeating because people return at midnight to hold celebrations.

“Don’t lose precious lives to mistakes made just for fleeting moments of fun. We appeal that henceforth, no one should come to Tank Bund, lakes, or open areas at midnight hours to make merry,” he added.

–IANS

ms/rad