Bangalore, Oct 10 (IANS): Celebrities Karisma Kapoor and Anil Kumble have lent their star power to 'Road to Safety', a nationwide campaign to make Indian roads safer.

Supported by Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, the initiative was launched by Diageo and NDTV here Thursday.

It aims to make the country's roads safer and reduce the number of preventable accidents by encouraging citizens, specially the youth of India, to be more responsible behind the wheel and to avoid drunken driving.

Talking about the issue, Karisma said in a statement: "So many lives are lost every year in India due to a casual approach and lack of knowledge about road safety. Initiatives like this will go a long way in educating people about road safety measures and in turn will help save lives."

Anand Kripalu, managing director, United Spirits (a Diageo group company), said that the
initiative is a year-long programme of partnership with government, NGOs and educational institutes to cause a paradigm shift in people's approach to road safety in India.