Keonjhar: Heads of various places of worships of different faiths have joined hands across the district to curb road accidents.

Following the footsteps of several temple committees, clerics of masjids, gurudwaras and churches have made it mandatory for two-wheeler riders to wear helmets while visiting shrines to offer prayers.

Those without helmets would be denied the right to offer prayer, a joint statement of Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Sikh priests in Keonjhar district stated.

Last year, 350 lives were lost in road accidents in the district. The count this year is 150 so far. Majority of victims are two-wheeler riders who pay the price for not wearing helmets.

To raise awareness about road safety, police have intensified the drive to penalise those who do not wear helmets. "Our campaign to spread awareness about road safety and safe driving involves clerics of all religions. Meetings were held with managements of temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches across the district. They accepted our proposal to bar two-wheeler riders without helmets from offering puja," said Keonjhar superintendent of police Jay Narayan Pankaj.

"It's an exceedingly positive endeavour to save human lives. When the police chief interacted with us and sought our co-operation, we extended total support. A notice board has been put up right in front of the mosque debarring motorcycle riders entry for namaz if they do not have helmets," said head of the Sunni Jama Masjid Committee Habubur Rehman.

Head of Union Baptist church S.K. Nayak and Balit Singh of Gurudwar Singh Sabha echoed Rehman while talking to reporters.

"The initiative is paying dividends. It will help develop the habit of wearing helmets among motorcyclists," said Rehman.