Animated character Chhota Bheem to teach road safety to Mumbai kids

The animated hero of Dholakpur will soon teach schoolchildren about the importance of road safety. The government of Maharashtra is currently in talks with the TV channel that airs the animated series, ‘Chhota Bheem', a favourite among kids.

This is one among several initiatives of the state government to influence children into following rules on the road. Vijay Kamble, Additional Director General of Police (Traffic), said, "Cartoons are an important medium to attract young children and we hope they will inculcate habits like wearing seat belt and helmet while driving. We are currently in talks with the channel to integrate road safety stories with characters like Chhota Bheem and Mighty Raju."

According to officials, the characters will talk about following traffic rules, driving safely and taking the right precautions to avoid accidents. Chhota Bheem's character is a nine-year old boy who does everything right, while Mighty Raju is an urban character who travels in cars and uses high-end gadgets.

In addition, the government will also publish nearly 3.5 lakh notebooks with images on road safety, which will be sold to school and college students. With more than 13 lakh dying last year in Maharashtra due to road accidents, the state is one of the top five in the list of states with the highest no of road accidents.