Chaos, confusion, commotion: City’s traffic story

By Shirish Borkar :

OFFICERS come and go like clouds. With their typical bureaucratic rhetoric, most of them often try to maintain ‘status quo’ in problems dogging the city for years to keep their record straight. The present traffic scenario in the Second Capital seems to have caught in the same zone of complacency on part of the law-enforcers who are busy in passing the buck to other departments. The end result is a confused and complicated maze of traffic that is going from bad to worse with commuters, too, adding their share of abysmal traffic and civic sense. Very few posted to Traffic Branch are keen in evolving strategies for effective traffic management to ensure safety and security of citizens on the thoroughfares. The octopus of lawlessness is spreading its tentacles menacingly on city roads apparently due to poor traffic management.

The Regional Transport Office (RTO) and Traffic cops have virtually failed to tackle the menace of autorickshaw drivers and unauthorised public transporters. With no traffic discipline, problem of wrong siders, rash and negligent drivers jumping traffic signals and haphazard parking continue unabated. Officers from Public Works Department (PWD) and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) seem to be in deep slumber with heavy vehicles plying on flyovers regularly. Bad condition of roads, lack of pedestrian facilities and ongoing construction work by various agencies have aggravated traffic congestion.

Taking a serious note of traffic mismanagement, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court had slammed Traffic Branch personnel for remaining busy on mobile phones while on duty. Hearing a suo motu PIL last month on rampant traffic violations, a division bench of the High Court had also warned that they would be constrained to direct the Government to shift incompetent and inefficient higher officials, who were unable to control their subordinates. Early this month, the High Court had also directed to expedite the proposal of providing body-worn cameras to traffic constables deployed across the city. Interestingly, City Police had sworn in an affidavit about procurement of 1000 body-worn cameras for traffic constables ‘to minimise obstruction in discharge of official duties and also to ensure transparency and accountability while performing their tasks. It seems, top brass in the Traffic Branch, NMC, NIT, PWD, NHAI and RTO appear to have turned a blind eye to effectively coordinate among themselves and streamline the traffic management.

Autorickshaw drivers, who carry passengers beyond capacity on fare-sharing basis, park their vehicles haphazardly at road intersections at different crowded places, including Variety Square, Rani Jhansi Square, Manas Square, Chhatrapati Nagar Square, Sakkardara Chowk and Gittikhadan Square, and often misbehave with citizens. Despite deployment of Traffic constables at all these major squares, the autorickshaw drivers continue to violate traffic rules causing inconvenience to commuters. Mushrooming of unauthorised public transporters is adding to citizens’ woes.

With no regular check by the RTO and Traffic Police, they park their four-wheelers in the middle of the road to pick-up passengers, creating hurdles in smooth flow of traffic. Though traffic police issue challans, two-wheeler riders, mostly youngsters, jump traffic signals panicking other motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. Many a biker, including the delivery boys of restaurant aggregators, jump signals by crossing speed limit while traffic constables remain mere spectators. Likewise, traffic cops seem to have turned a blind eye to vehicles plying on wrong side which is common sight in almost all areas. Even as traffic police are initiating action against heavy vehicles plying on flyovers, the PWD authorities have apparently failed in their basic duty to install height barriers to check traffic of loaded trucks. What is the reason behind the delay in placing barriers on the Shaheed Gowari flyover is a big enigma for the city. Their only prayer is a solution is found to the flyover traffic problem before it is too late.

DCP Sarang Awad

Traffic discipline needed at all levels: DCP Awad

Special Correspondent :

BEING a People’s Paper, ‘The Hitavada’ took up the issue of traffic chaos with the concerned authorities for their reply. While there were assurances on coming out with a detailed plan to deal with the rising problem, one thing that became pretty clear was the lack of coordination between different Government departments and planning authorities. The man directly concerned with the issue, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sarang Awad, also raised a pertinent problem of lack of traffic sense in the city. It is a perennial impediment in changing the face of Nagpur’s traffic scenario.

“I’m aware of almost all the issues. I’m personally coordinating with the other departments concerned, including the RTO, for effective traffic management,” said Awad, who recently took over reins of the Traffic Branch. “Besides deployment of traffic constables,” Awad said, “We are constantly monitoring the situation using CCTV cameras.” Awad, who served as DCP (Traffic) in Pune before being posted to the city, further said, “Motorists violating the traffic rules won’t be spared at all. We are already co-ordinating with other agencies to ensure traffic discipline at all levels.”