‘Braking the Tragedy’: Punjab’s Groundbreaking Campaign to Save Farmers from Road Accidents

In a significant stride toward transforming rural road safety, Punjab has launched an ambitious awareness campaign titled ‘I Am a Safety Hero’, aiming to drastically cut down the number of tragic accidents involving agricultural vehicles, especially tractor-trolleys. The campaign, launched at the Punjab Police Headquarters, reflects a proactive move by the state police in collaboration with Yara India, under the determined leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. The Traffic and Road Safety Wing of Punjab Police is steering this effort with direction from Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, showcasing a fresh emphasis on saving lives through education and empowerment.

At the heart of the initiative lies a sobering reality: from 2017 to 2022, over 2,000 accidents involving tractor-trolleys were reported in Punjab, leading to more than 1,500 deaths—many of whom were farmers. These incidents account for nearly six percent of the state’s total road fatalities, making it clear that rural transportation safety is not just a concern but an emergency. It is this stark backdrop that prompted the state to act with urgency, foresight, and collaboration.

Additional Director General of Police (Traffic and Road Safety) AS Rai, while launching the campaign, emphasized that road safety is not merely about enforcement—it is about education, behavioral change, and a culture of responsibility. He described the campaign as a collective mission that brings together law enforcement, industry partners, and the rural community in an unprecedented alliance to create safer roads. The centerpiece of the campaign is the distribution of reflective safety stickers for tractor-trolleys and specially crafted educational materials designed to inform and inspire change across Punjab’s farmlands.

The campaign will first roll out through a three-day Model Farmers’ Awareness Camp in Khanna Mandi, Asia’s largest grain market. Designed as an interactive experience, the camp will feature air-cooled awareness booths, classroom-style sessions, live demonstrations, street plays, and safety gear distribution. This multi-sensory approach ensures that the message of safety reaches deeply into the hearts and habits of farmers, mandi workers, and rural transporters. Senior Superintendent of Police Jyoti Yadav will inaugurate the camp, which is set to lay the foundation for similar drives across other districts.

What sets this campaign apart is its commitment to long-term engagement rather than short-term fixes. Materials are being disseminated through the Traffic and Road Safety Education Cells in every district and Commissionerate. This decentralized and participatory model ensures the campaign does not end with Khanna—it begins there. According to Dr. Navdeep Asija, Director of the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Center, the goal is to replicate and expand the model throughout rural Punjab, encouraging local ownership of road safety norms.

Sanjiv Kanwar, Managing Director of Yara South Asia, reinforced his company’s commitment to the safety and well-being of the farming community. He highlighted that the initiative is about delivering life-saving knowledge directly to those most at risk and doing so in a manner that builds trust and promotes sustained change. Yara’s partnership with Punjab Police marks a unique blend of corporate social responsibility and grassroots outreach, bringing meaningful action to the fields.

The campaign is designed to build up to the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28, but its legacy will extend well beyond that. Following the initial awareness blitz, a state-wide campaign will be rolled out across schools, mandis, and high-risk rural routes. It will include regular monitoring, refresher sessions, and interactive educational tools aimed at embedding road safety into everyday rural life.

‘I Am a Safety Hero’ is more than a slogan—it is a movement. It calls on farmers to be the first line of defense against preventable deaths. It encourages a mindset shift from reaction to prevention, from isolation to community action. In every reflective sticker applied to a tractor, in every street play performed in a dusty mandi, Punjab is scripting a new chapter—one where rural progress no longer comes at the cost of rural lives.

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