Traffic police, RTO directed to rein in on traffic violators

By Tahir Mushtaq

GNS JAMMU, Dec : With hundreds of unregistered registered busses and other vehicles illegally plying on the city roads, in total disregard to the norms, administration has directed the traffic police and Regional Transport Office (RTO) to launch drive against these vehicles. 

These include some of the busses plying on the inter-state and inter-district routes with fake registrations allegedly in connivance with some political workers of ruling parties. 

Sources said that in February this year Divisional Commissioner Pawan Kotwal had convened a meeting of civil and police officials to devise a strategy to deal with these vehicles, after the RTO had brought to notice of the administration, about the illegal vehicles. 

“Number of passenger busses are running without valid papers, but it was being overlooked by the enforcement agencies because of involvement of some police and civil officials. But now it has become a major menace for the administration”, said a source. 

At the moment there are close to five lakh vehicles on the roads in the Jammu alone, plus the floating vehicles carrying tourists and pilgrims bound for Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. 

Officials maintain that though it is a huge task to deal with the menace of fake registered vehicles, because of lack of manpower, but steps are being taken to address the issue on war footing. 

On the other hand, a committee has been constituted to be headed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner and comprising of Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Jammu, Municipal Commissioner and SSP Traffic to restart the pre-paid auto rickshaw stand at Railway station and general bus stand. 

“There are many projects which were launched with much funfare but there was no follow up action, making them die a slow death. But now administration is on revival mode. How successful they will be, only time will tell”, said a official. 

Divisional Commissioner Pawan Kotwal said that directions have been passed to various agencies to strictly deal with the violators and enforce the guidelines set by the government. 

After Tokyo, Jammu is considered to be the city having the highest density of vehicular traffic. But paradoxically, there are not more than 90 traffic police personnel manning the important intersections in and around the city. 

Traffic management is also giving blues to the department concerned in the absence of traffic signals, as the entire work is being executed manually with such a small team of police personnel.