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| Reality check: 25,000 vehicles in J&K plying with illegal permits | | Traffic Police, MVD, R&B Deptt, Civic Corporations to be blamed for chaos on roads | | SALMAN NIZAMI
JAMMU, JUNE 27: The lack of coordination between various government departments and agencies responsible for management of transport and traffic, and the prevalence of corruption, is believed to be a major cause of the chaotic traffic on roads in Jammu and Kashmir.
Apart from the Traffic Police, the Roads and Building Department, Motor Vehicles Department, Municipal Corporations and other civic bodies, and the Development Authorities of the two capital cities, are responsible for traffic management and for providing infrastructure. A look at how these departments function, or malfunction, would enable an objective appreciation of the entire problem where the vast majority of commuters and the laymen are the ultimate sufferers.
The 500-odd traffic policemen are supposed to manage the flow of hundreds of thousands of vehicles, not humanly possible, a senior police officer would have us believe. He said the role of traffic police had been limited to impose fines on erring drivers. “Streamlining flow of traffic on the arterial roads does not require rocket science. But the lack of coordination between various government agencies is making the conditions worse for the commuters,” he added. The Motor Vehicle Department is said to be the main culprit. Sources in Regional Transport Office said in the past ten years the MVD has given 25000 route permits for auto rickshaws and Sumo taxis only. The job of RTA comprising Transport Commissioner, SSP Traffic, and Deputy Commissioners concerned is to issue route permits after assessing the demand. But the RTA authorities have not met in the past ten years and almost all permits have been issued illegally. “15000 auto rickshaws and 10000 Sumos are plying on fake permits in Jammu province. Normally Rs 40,000 to 50,000 are being charged in the RTO for a new route permit,” sources told Early Times. A senior official in RTO said the public demands are never assessed periodically. He said after 4 pm most of the vehicles don’t ply on specific routes, and authorities turn a blind eye.
The R&B Department is responsible for building roads and other infrastructure like bus stops. Most of the roads in the city have not been widened for past two decades though the number of commuters has risen to 20 lakh a day, and is increasing each year. Freshly macadamized roads are dug up to pipe lines. The condition of roads is pathetic, leading to frequent jams.
The Jammu Development Authority has not built adequate number of parking lots and allowed construction of buildings that don’t care to leave space for parking. Special Additional Mobile Magistrate A.K.Gupta said, “I can challan and book the offenders which I’m doing since last few months. But it isn’t possible to challan each and every violator. There is need for a coordinated effort between the different agencies for providing hassle free transport to the commuters.” “People too have to be disciplined while driving the vehicles. I’m trying my best to streamline the follow of traffic and I need support of people in this,” he said.
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