City Reporter The K-Electric launched its School Safety Awareness Drive 2020 with an inaugural event held on Thursday at a local hotel attended by heads of educational institutions, senior government officials, representatives of the media and other stakeholders. Under this Safety Drive, over 100,000 children in Karachi, between the ages of 8 to 16 years, will be educated about basic principles of general safety, electrical safety, hazards of power theft and benefits of energy conservation with the aim to engage and sensitize students through activities including quiz competitions and drills. The power utility has initiated this activity in the hope of filling a critical vacuum – the absence of safety courses and training sessions as part of regular curriculums. Speaking at the launch, the K-Electric spokesperson said, “We believe that safety is everyone’s responsibility. Creating safe and resilient cities is also a key United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal; by taking the lead in inculcating awareness and ownership about personal and public safety, we seek to drive a societal change and students as our future leaders must be at the helm of this culture shift. We look forward to partnering with the managements of all participating schools and also look forward to the support of the government and other stakeholders in this initiative to ensure maximum impact.” Deputy Commissioner South Irshad Ali Sodhar graced the event as Chief Guest and said, “All stakeholders have an obligatory role to play in ensuring a safe and resilient community which underpins sustainable development. We appreciate K-Electric for realizing the importance of this and launching their Safety Drive 2020. By involving students as the change leaders we hope to ensure that our future generations are equipped with the necessary skills and awareness to become ambassadors of safety, prevention and essentially deliver this message to a wider audience of friends and family.”
