Raghvendra Kumar, who hails from a small village in Kaimur district, came to Delhi-NCR with something big in mind. But due to the tragic loss of his close friend Krishna, he changed and started distributing helmets. For more than eight years, Kumar, also known as ‘Helmet Man of India’, has been continuously working towards raising awareness for road safety. He distributes helmets to riders who aren’t wearing them as he doesn’t want anyone to feel the suffering and loss that he and Krishna’s family felt, when they lost Krishna in an accident. His friend was not wearing a helmet because of which he died. Drawn to the cause since that day, he has so far distributed helmets to more than 56,000 people. Among them, the lives of 29 recipients were saved by the helmets provided by Kumar. Along with offline awareness, he also makes people aware of the issue through his social media account, where he has more than 26,000 followers. For his noble cause, he has been awarded the Asian Excellence Award in 2022. To raise awareness, he even wears a helmet while driving his car.
Along with this, he has a second initiative—to educate children who can’t afford books. It began when he visited his friend Krishna’s house a few months after the latter’s tragic death. There, he saw some books lying, all covered in dust. After that, he asked permission for the book and donated it to a poor child. He has started a campaign where people donate their old books and get a helmet in return from the helmet man.These people may be educated, but they make stupid errors that cost them their lives. His mission of turning people into smart road users is still ongoing. He wants the support of people who have lost family members due to road accidents. He claims that if he had received the support of those who had lost loved ones, his mission would have taken him to a higher level, reducing the death toll.
(This appeared in the print edition as "The Man With the Golden Helmets")
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Text and photographs by Suresh K Pandey
