Kalaburagi: A meeting of heads and management committee members of various schools and colleges was held here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Police Commissioner Dr S D Sharanappa, according to a police press note issued on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the Police Commissioner briefed the participants on key safety measures to be implemented across educational institutions.

He instructed institution heads to ensure that students, parents, and teachers strictly follow traffic rules. Dr Sharanappa informed that the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) has already been introduced in Kalaburagi. He highlighted that riding vehicles by minors, driving under the influence of alcohol, and riding without a licence are serious traffic violations. "Institution heads must create awareness about traffic rules among students, parents, teaching staff, and non-teaching staff," he said.

The police department has proposed to conduct a traffic awareness campaign from June 11 to June 21. The Commissioner warned that if any minor is found riding a vehicle, a fine of ?25,000 will be imposed on the parents. Dr Sharanappa said educational institutions have been asked to form anti-drugs committees to spread awareness about the ill-effects of substance abuse. Similarly, institutions must compulsorily constitute anti-ragging committees to prevent ragging on their premises.

CCTV, safety, and background verification

For student safety, the Commissioner stressed that institutions should install CCTV cameras. He also advised that if any girl student or woman staff member faces any problem, they should be encouraged to contact 'Akka Pade', a support mechanism for women in distress.

Institutions were further directed to obtain police verification certificates before recruiting school bus drivers and security guards. "Drivers and security guards should also be given proper awareness about traffic rules," Sharanappa added.