| Despite MVA & Apex Court guidelines, Bus operators blatantly use pressure horn, authority unmoved | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 2 : Although the apex court has clear guidelines to state government to control the growing menace of pressure horns in commercial vehicles, and same has been prohibited in Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) of the State. But all of these, is not implemented so far by Motor Vehicles Department in letter and spirit, making mockery of the legislation.
Reliable source in department said that owing to dilly-dally practices of the department concerned, the pressure horns are being used by maximum buses plying on several major routes of Jammu while the department rather than penalizing them, have seem stands with the violators.
Source further said that the violations of the norms of the Act could be gauged this fact as the buses plying on Jammu- Kathua route which runs through the jurisdiction of Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) including Jammu, Samba and Kathua, have been using the pressure horns. "The concerned RTOs have so far failed to control the menace of noise pollution caused by Pressure horns in vehicles", source added.
"The use of pressure horns can cause severe headache, high blood pressure and hearing problems", a doctor Sumit Sharma, said, adding that the use of horn was only to give a signal to other vehicle operators, but bus operators use the horn, like rattle of a toy.
A daily routine commuter, who comes to Kathua from Jammu said that more than one dozen nakas of police and Traffic police were in the route. "Many a times traffic police officials stop the buses but instead of penalizing the bus drivers/operators, they talk with conductor and left allow the vehicle to go", he said.
He further said, "If you ask the conductor, they openly said that traffic police has laid the nakas only to minting money", adding that the conductors also said that they gives monthly charges to Traffic police officials as to violate the norms, enacted in Motor Vehicle Act.
"If you are late in giving fixed monthly money to enforcement agency, they will stop the vehicle and ask for same", he claimed.
Another commuter said that every violation of rules could easily be done by bribing the department concerned and even the Traffic police was no exception.
As per the report of Vehicles Union' member said that in each hour nearly 50 private buses pass from Samba bus stand. It is very easily to find the vehicle operators using pressure horns as all the bus operators use horns, whenever they reached any stop and constantly use it till the other bus left the bus stop, adding that nearly 700 buses pass each day from district Samba and majority of these vehicles have been using the pressure horns, for the last many years but the enforcement department has turned a blind eye towards violation.
The officers of enforcement agency is pat their back under a plea as they have penalized several bus operators regarding using of Pressure horns but they still failed to impose complete ban on pressure horns which make a major cause of the noise pollution. |
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