Ravi Gaikwad

Ravi Gaikwad is the chief of RTO, Thane and the Konkan region. He is also the chief of the Road Safety Cell in Maharashtra.[2] He serves as the chairman of the Handball Federation of India, a member of International Handball Federation.[3][4] He is also on the board of Indian Olympic Association and All India Football Federation and is also the Chairman of Shant Bharat Surakshit Bharat.[5] Gaikwad is also the President of Uttarakhand Football Federation.[6]

Ravi Gaikwad
Born
Pune, Maharashtra
CitizenshipIndia
EducationB.Tech
OrganizationChief of Regional Transport Office
Chairman of Handball Federation of India
President of Uttarakhand Football Federation
Chairman of Shant Bharat Surakshit Bharat
Known forRoad Safety World Series
Spouse(s)Dr. Nirmala Gaikwad[1]
ChildrenAnanya Gaikwad and Rishi Gaikwad[1]

Biography

Early life

Gaikwad was born in Pune to Pushpa and Kisanrao Gaikwad. His father is a retired bureaucrat in the Government of Maharashtra and his mother is a housewife. He completed his early education at Little Flower Convent High School and later received his engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunication as a gold medallist across all universities in the state of Maharashtra. He was an HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate Examinations) Topper in Maharashtra State.[7] He worked as a scientist. He has represented in Under 15, Under 17, and Under 19 categories and was selected in the Ranji Trophy Camp[8] of Maharashtra.[9] He cleared Civil Services and joined the Government.[10]

Career

Gaikwad worked as the head regional transport officer of the Andheri RTO. In 2009, he was accused in controversies related to registration of imported bikes. Subsequently he was transferred to Beed but he did not join the office there. In 2015, Gaikwad was appointed as the deputy regional transport officer. He also held the office of Borivali Regional Transport Office, Mumbai as the Chief. Currently he is the head of RTO Thane and Konkan.[2]

In 2016, Gaikwad supervised the largest road safety class in Mumbai and set a Guinness World Record.[11] The event was organized by Borivali DRTO.

He also headed the team that initiated action against a motor training school for allegedly booking more than 100 appointments for driving license using a single mobile number.[12][13] In 2018, Gaikwad led the team consisting of Borivali RTO and Mumbai Police that busted the fake police certificate-issuing racket.[14] After the RTO department invited applications for issuing fresh permits to taxis and autos in 2017, it came across a number of applications with fake No Objection Certificates.[15] Thereafter, with the help of the Mumbai police, the Borivali RTO busted a gang that helped the drivers of these vehicles get fake police permissions and arrested four accused in the case.[16]

In February 2016, he set the Guinness World Record for organizing the largest handball lesson, which was attended by 678 people in Solapur, Maharashtra.[17]

In 2018, Gaikwad organized the 'Horn Not Ok' campaign to increase road safety awareness. The drive was attended by Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan.[2]

During the coronavirus lockdown, in May 2020, Gaikwad saw action against illegal transport of migrants with them issuing 250 memos to such vehicles. Over a lakh migrants have been helped by him, being transported in a correct manner through 10000 MSRTC buses with a huge surge in the crowd seen in Thane (Mumbai Metropolitan Region), the highest in this crisis.[18]

In January 2020, Maharashtra Chief Minister Shree Udhav Thackeray awarded Gaikwad the "Road Safety Award of Maharashtra" for his contribution towards road safety in reducing the number of accidents and deaths on Indian roads.[19]

Controversy

During his tenure at Andheri RTO, Gaikwad was alleged to have helped the import of the registration of five bikes, an accusation that was investigated. He was exonerated of all charges. The order stated that there was no need for the enquiry to be conducted against Gaikwad.[20]

Ravi Gaikwad and Road Safety

Ravi Gaikwad is the founder of the Road Safety World Series that integrates the concept of Road Safety with sports to create awareness about the importance of road safety to save lives on Indian roads and roads across the globe.[21][22]

Every year, more than 1.5-2 lakh people die on Indian roads due to vehicular accidents; one person dies every four minutes and 1,214 road accidents occur every day in the country. In the last five years, more than 65 lakh people were disabled.[23]

Ravi Gaikwad, Senior Member of Road Safety Cell, Government of Maharashtra has been working to put together a league, with the involvement of top stars, from around the world to support the cause of road safety.[24]

Gaikwad has had a keen interest in creating awareness towards road safety and after his stint with TATA's as a scientist, he started participating in various initiatives. The Road Safety World Series, the T20 cricket event which will be played between legends of India, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka, was conceptualized towards creating awareness for the cause and will be able to save lives on Indian roads.[25][26]

Jamaican Sprinter and Olympic Gold Medallist, Mr Yohan Blake, visited India for the campaign of road safety in the road safety world series.[27] Ravi Gaikwad, Chairman of Shant Bharat Surakshit Bharat appreciated Yohan Blake's visit to India and his efforts for the road safety campaign, which required the need to educate the people and make them aware of their responsibilities so as to save as many lives as possible on Indian roads.[28]

Achievements
  • Gaikwad has been awarded the Best Engineer Award by the Engineering Association of India (EAI).[29]
  • He has received two Gold Medals in Engineering[30]
  • He also received a Guinness World Record for the largest handball class conducted to encourage the playing of handball in India.[31]
  • Gaikwad received the Road Safety Award of Maharashtra for spreading awareness and in turn reducing the number of deaths and road accidents in the state.[32]

Speeches

Ravi Gaikwad is known for his expressive and articulate speeches. He often talks about enhancing the image and effectiveness of Shant Bharat Surakshit Bharat explaining the importance of road safety.[33]

References
  1. Beyond 22 yards: The advent of RTO chief Ravi Gaikwad The Free Press Journal 17-11-2019
  2. Joshi, Yukti (2019-07-15). "Thane RTO puts road safety in first gear". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  3. Who is Rendezvous' Ravi Gaikwad The Economic Times 16-04-2010
  4. Ravi Gaikwad’s efforts Bring Justice 28-08-2018
  5. "Yohan Blake to promote road safety in India". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  6. Uttarakhand State Football Association All India Football Federation 28-08-2018
  7. "Ravi Gaikwad, Riding Love For Cricket To Save Lives On Indian Roads". Outlook. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  8. "Ravi Gaikwad: Man with a mission". The Economic Times. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  9. "Beyond 22 yards: The advent of RTO chief Ravi Gaikwad". The Free Press Journal. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  10. "Yohan Blake severely critical of World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe's decision to drop certain events from Diamond League 2020". The Hindu. 2019-12-02. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  11. These guys set a Guinness World Record for hosting the biggest road safety class Daily News and Analysis 01-02-2016
  12. Now, Borivali RTO seeks an Aarey licence Daily News and Analysis 13-06-2018
  13. Mumbai driving school makes 100 appointments for licences using single mobile number Hindustan Times 17-11-2017
  14. Mumbai Crime: RTO busts fake police certificate issuing racket Mid Day 19-01-2018
  15. 8 FIRs registered against errant auto drivers, agents The Times of India 19-06-2018
  16. Auto drivers forging character certificates to get permit Daily News and Analysis 06-06-2018
  17. "Largest handball lesson". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  18. https://www.mid-day.com/articles/coronavirus-lockdown-maharashtra-transport-commissioner-conducts-surprise-check-at-thane/22787247
  19. https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-maharashtra-cm-uddhav-thakre-fetes-thane-rto-chief-ravi-gailkwad-for-road-safety-measures/345763
  20. RTO officer absolved of false charges 24-01-2019
  21. "Ravi Gaikwad: Man with a mission". The Economic Times. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  22. "Road Safety World Series: Here's how cricketers drove home the point on road safety before COVID-19". asianetnews. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  23. "Road Safety World Series: Here's how cricketers drove home the point on road safety before COVID-19 lockdown". Asianet News Network. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  24. "Ravi Gaikwad: Man with a mission". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  25. "Ravi Gaikwad, Riding Love For Cricket To Save Lives On Indian Roads". Outlook India. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  26. "Special conversation with Ravi Gaikwad, who connects cricket with road safety campaign - रोड सेफ्टी मुहिम के लिए सचिन फिर उठाएंगे बल्ला वीडियो - हिन्दी न्यूज़ वीडियो एनडीटीवी ख़बर". NDTV Khabar. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  27. "Yohan Blake severely critical of World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe's decision to drop certain events from Diamond League 2020". The Hindu. 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  28. "Yohan Blake to promote road safety in India". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  29. "Maharashtra CM Udhav Thakre Fetes Thane RTO Chief Ravi Gailkwad For Road Safety Measures". Outlook India. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  30. "Ravi Gaikwad, Riding Love For Cricket To Save Lives On Indian Roads". Outlook India. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  31. "Largest handball lesson". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  32. "Mumbai: DRTO Borivli enters Guinness World Records for holding largest road safety class". DNA India. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  33. "Road Safety Cricket series gets boost". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.