Natural Habitat Preservation (NHP) Centre, the organizer of well-received Kumaon Literary Festival and FON South Asia Short Story Award has initiated a contest for the best 30 short stories on road safety issues. The compilation will later be brought out in the form of a book early next year. #HASJ stems out of the firm belief that literature can serve as an effective medium to connect and engage with people, particularly amongst the younger generation, for promoting awareness of road safety rules. Writing stories about negligence and casual approach to road safety norms can strike a chord with almost everyone. This Independence Day, #HASJ will aspire for freedom from road accidents through world’s first short stories collection on Road Safety issues. The contest is supported by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) and Mahindra Truck and Bus Division.
Mr. Sumant Batra, Founder, NHP Centre and Director, #HASJ, added, “Literature, as a form of intellectual culture, keeps immense potential to entertain as well as educate the audience. A story can expose readers to different places, time periods, viewpoints and cultures. Readers can gain experiences through literature they would never have access to in ordinary life. NHP Centre has successfully initiated a series of projects that capture people’s imagination focusing on the human beings and their lives to evoke readers’ conscience and a sense of empathy.”
Mr. Tuhin A. Sinha, Author & Advisor, MoRTH, added, “There is hardly any urban family in India which is unaffected by the scourge of road accidents. The way to make people responsible is often not through preaching but by laying out a situation to them in interesting, creative and more palatable forms. #HASJ aspires to make our Road Safety campaign more relatable and engaging for the educated urban Indians.”
The contest will close on 15th October. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of Rupees fifty thousand.