Mobile phones are one of the most “severe distractions on the road” and “please don’t use” them while driving or walking on roads, Calcutta police commissioner Manoj Verma said on Saturday.

He was speaking at a programme to mark the conclusion of Kolkata Police’s road safety week. In attendance were children from different schools along with members of the police force and senior officers.

“How many of you use mobile phones? Please raise your hands,” Verma asked the audience. “Ok. So almost all,” Verma said before he began his address.

“Since I can spot school students in the gathering I have a few words for them. Those who use mobile phones... this is one of the most severe distractions on the road,” Verma said.

The police chief, also the former deputy commissioner of Kolkata Traffic Police, paused to ask if a video of a recent road accident on Shakespeare Sarani had been shown to the gathering.

“Recently, a person was walking down the road while speaking on his mobile phone along Shakespeare Sarani. He was walking by the side and suddenly came in the middle of the road unmindfully while speaking over the phone and he was hit by a vehicle,” Verma said.

“So mobile (phone) is one of the important distractions. When you are driving or walking down the road, please don’t use the mobile phone.”

Senior officers said the number of people on phones while driving has gone up several times over the past year.

The police said they prosecute offenders by temporarily suspending their licenses as it amounted to dangerous driving.

The penalty for using a mobile phone while driving is ₹5,000 for the first offence and ₹10,000 for repeat offences.

The police chief insisted on using good-quality helmets for those driving two-wheelers and urged the public to abide by the traffic rules, especially at intersections.

“The road surface of Calcutta is just about 3-4 per cent compared to the total area. Ideally, it should have been around 30 per cent. Delhi has around 10 per cent of road surface,” Verma said.

“So you understand how difficult it is to run traffic. The traffic team keeps working round the year and what you see is a result of that,” Verma said.

The top cops said fatalities on Calcutta’s roads have come down from more than 400 around 2007-2008 to less than 200 now despite the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police getting doubled.

“Everyone has equal rights to the road. But with rights come duty. You have to remain safe and keep other road users safe.”