Riding on safe pedals

The vroom of motor bikes filled the air at the royal residence of Kowdiar Palace on Sunday afternoon when Prince Aditya Varma flagged off a road safety awareness campaign from the palace premises. The royal descendant took a tour down the drive way of the palace on a green Kawasaki Ninja sports bike before the rally of premium bikes set off to Shanghumukham. The team, sporting complete riding gear, started off at 3 pm to reach its destination at 7 pm. The bikers would halt at half point in the route to perform safety awareness street play and distribute pamphlets to the public highlighting the importance of safe road usage. The campaign was conducted by the Kerala Chapter of Xbhp, an all-India biking community in association with the Thiruvananthapuram City Traffic Police. The biking club with an online presence and pan-India membership has been in the forefront of promoting safe riding and helmet awareness. “Xbhp is committed to making safe biking a lifestyle in India. Along with promoting safe biking, the club also aims to harvest the country’s young talent in travel writing and photography,” said Remy Reji, a student of Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering (SCTCE) and a member of the Kerala Chapter.He adds that the club does not discriminate on the basis of the bikes owned by people and welcomes on board everyone with a passion for biking and discussing bikes.Said Prince Aditya Varma, who has flagged off the awareness campaign every year since it was launched two years ago, “there has not been much opportunity for me to follow the inkling for bike riding though I read about bikes and follow news about new models. Xbhp is doing commendable work for promoting safe biking and their activities obviously have a positive influence on the youth. Youngsters should be made aware of the importance of wearing helmets and following traffic rules,” he said.The team of avid bikers included students and professionals. A ten-member band of bikers staged the inaugural performance of the street play in front of Kanakakkunnu Palace.