Jamshedpur, Feb. 9: They are considered the city’s high-fliers, but from now on they will have their feet firmly planted on the ground. In a unique decision, the who’s who of the city has decided to slow down and bid adieu to their Mercedes, Indicas, Boleros and Ambassadors en route to office, at least once a week.

The decision, taken at a chat show organised at the Centre for Excellence today as part of the traffic safety week, follows a bid to highlight that fast vehicles are not always the solution to a busy work schedule.

The idea, mooted by deputy commissioner Sunil Kumar Burnwal, was immediately approved by superintendent of police Arun Oraon, managing director of Tata Steel B. Muthuraman, managing director of Jusco Sanjeev Paul and the managing director of Tarapore and Company Bailey Bodhanwala, who have all decided to walk down to office from their residence once a week.

“The gesture will highlight that despite my busy schedule, I do not have to use a vehicle. Very soon, my office will issue an order that every person working in the collectorate will either walk down or come on a bicycle to office,” he added. Burnwal’s move comes in the wake of arguments by parents justifying the use of two-wheelers by their wards because of their hectic schedule. He said it was high time that parents stopped putting their children’s life in peril.

Burnwal was referring to a suggestion by managing director of Tarapore and Company, Bailey Bodhanwala, who felt students should not be allowed to go to school on two-wheelers. “Parents argue that their wards have to go several teachers for private tuition and they cannot do it without a two-wheeler,” he said, adding, “They should be asked to go to school on bicycles at least once a week,” he said.

At the chat show, it was also decided to declare areas around hospitals and schools as silence zone, not allow auto-rickshaws to carry more than six children to schools and organise traffic awareness day once a month. Burnwal also ordered the police to seize licenses of school children driving two-wheelers and subsequently their vehicles, if they were caught driving again.

President of the autorickshaw drivers’ union Banna Gupta was caught on the wrong foot when he assured the administration that he would extend all possible help to impose safety norms. The deputy commissioner, in front of huge audience, asked him to promise that no autorickshaw would carry more than six children to school. “There are points, I will like to discuss with the administration and autorickshaw drivers before making an announcement. But I will so something about it before February 11, the day the traffic safety week ends,” he said.