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| Big men with small egos! | | Well demarcated parking zone turned into forbidden land | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Feb 26
“Speak up and we will shut your mouth” this is what the arrogant authorities at the helm of the affairs want to convey for raising the issues of public importance –at least today’s action of Traffic Police sufficiently supports this argument.
The bosses and cops of the Traffic Police were in a little bad mood that they converted a “validly demarcated parking zone” into a “banished parking area”. The mood was so bitter that people who went shopping in Gole Market area after parking their vehicles in the parking zone on return saw their vehicles being dragged by the traffic cops through recovery vans.
The EARLY TIMES in its February 25 issues raised concerns about the traffic problem in Jammu City. Interestingly, within 6 hours the newspaper hitting the stalls, the SSP Traffic Jammu Shafqat Wattali reverted back with a warning phone call and promised vengeance. More interestingly, within 12 hours he came with revenge. Sorry at the action of SSP Wattali, out story was not on his capabilities but the traffic problem which he again ignored to address and instead devised a unique penal action for commenting on the traffic system.
We had said that traffic in Jammu City has become unmanageable with unprecedented increase in the number of vehicles and with no corresponding increase in the road length. We had also said that the awareness campaign launched by the Traffic department is though well spirited but ill conceived as instead of addressing the problem the initiative put the normal life out of gear for the day. We maintain this and every one who crosses the Bikram Chowk, we are sure, would agree with us.
Unfortunately, the Traffic department instead of understanding the problem –a problem which pertains to them and every commoner in the city –went ahead with yet another ill conceived plan to penalize the EARLY TIMES. In the afternoon today, the SSP Traffic Shafqat Wattali called up the editor of this newspaper and expressed his strongest reservations for carrying the story, which was not against any person but a live commentary on the prevailing state of affairs on the roads.
In the evening the SSP sent a heavy posse of traffic cops and a vehicle lifter at the Gole Market and made one particular portion of this shopping hub as no parking zone. In a swift action, a heavy contingent of Traffic cops turned the entire corner into a cantonment and put the barricading cones in front of shops. The vehicle lifter was pressed into action to lift any vehicle parked there. It may be mentioned here that never in the history of Gole Market this areas had been declared as no parking zone.
Infact, the area converted by the Traffic cops as no ‘parking zone’ is a valid parking zone demarcated by the authorities. A clear line of demarcation had been drawn by the PWD showing the parking area which was in a spur of moment converted into the no parking area by traffic bosses.
Then what prompted the Traffic department to move so swiftly the take streamlining measures. Again pity at the SSP. The portion which was this evening declared as no parking zone leads to the Monika Super Market. The Monika Super Market one of the most frequently visited retail store of the town is owned by the proprietors of EARLY TIMES and the Traffic department, apparently, intended to pay back for carrying the story in newspaper. Isn’t it a bolster of fragile ego?
We would reassert that for us business and journalism are two separate things. The EARLY TIMES will always continue to speak and write in the public interest no matter what comes back in retaliation from the big men with small egos. |
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