In an unusual but very welcome move the Divisional Bench of the State High Court has taken cognizance of the chaotic situation created by indiscipline on the part of traffic control authorities of the State. In a stern ruling the SB has directed almost entire administrative structure of the state including the Traffic Police and Divisional Commission echelons to direct their immediate attention to various irregularities and remove them within shortest possible time.
The first dismaying observation made by the Court is that street vendors have eaten up not only the footpaths along the main streets in the cities of Srinagar and Jammu but have now begun o occupy even portions of general road thus hampering smooth flow of city traffic. The court has ordered both wings of police and the Divisional Commissioner to ensure that the order of removing the street vending by May 1 is implemented in letter and in spirit. The Chief Secretary has been asked to submit a status report on removal of these street vendors. The second aspect of indiscipline is that private vehicles, three-wheelers and other carriers have arbitrarily made parking places on the main road side and thus they have become huge obstruction to the smooth flow f traffic. The third indiscipline is that city buses are stopping at their will. There are no bus stops on short intervals nor are there visible sign boards for the bus stops. The Court has ordered that the Traffic Police should up sign boards and ensure that the buses stop only at the definite stops and not in midway. The Court has also reiterated its previous order and asked the Commissioner Transport to ensure that physical check of vehicles is conducted once a year to issue roadworthy certificates for aged vehicles. There are many unregistered autos and taxis in the State and the Court has taken serious view of this lapse on the part of Road Traffic Department.
The pint is that the cities of Srinagar and Jammu are still having the primitive system of city traffic. This is true about the entire State and the orders of the Court are meant not only for two capital cities but for the entire State. In these columns we have often said that there is the need of total overhauling of Transport Department. There is chaos about city transport. The mini buses are of primitive model, most uncomfortable with outmoded seat where one has to cramp and squeeze ones legs to find a sitting place. There is monopoly of routs in connivance with the traffic police and big business houses or politicians of influence and not the people of various localities have a say in determining the roots of public transport. What is needed is that at last half a dozen of hubs or coterminous have to be fixed in two cities from where buses would ply on all main roads and destinations to cover the entire area. This is not the case. The court has not touched on the important issue of noise pollution and reckless overtaking habits by mini bus drivers plying on the streets of the two cities. Obscene songs and ear piercing music is played and nobody not a single traffic policeman stops the bus and books the driver for gross indiscipline. While travelling in the city bus one feels that one is part of cattle load and the passengers are treated no better than cattle. The foremost need is that big, decent, comfortable and well equipped buses should replace the carts that ply on the roads of the two cities today.
While we welcome the order of the court to improve and modernize the traffic system in the State, we have apprehensions whether the authorities on ground will even implement these instructions and within the time frame. The Traffic Department has become so thick skinned that people have lost faith in them and therefore in the orders of the court as well. They believe that only some superhuman element will supervene to stem the rot of J&K Traffic Department. Streamlining public transport in the State will reduce dependence on private vehicles and the number of private motor cars will not increase with such rapidity as it is today. People would prefer to commute by buses as it is cheap and safe. But this can happen only when the bus system is regular, comfortable, hassle-free and respectable. We would also like to draw the attention of the Court to the need of two main cities of the State having enough parking lots available for parking of private vehicles. This is an urgent task and the departments of traffic and R&B shall have to join heads to devise the mechanism of creating parking space in the twin cities be it underground or multi-storeyed whatever. Unless we have enough parking lots the menace of parking on the main streets will not come to an end. Now that the Court has ordered removal of street vendors, a problem is likely to surface and that is of finding an alternative to the removed vendors. After all they are part of the society and shall have to be provided with alternative space to run their daily life. Just removing is all right because they cannot occupy the pathways but since they have been allowed to do so for decades at end, there must be a rehabilitation plan for them with the Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations.
Since the Court order touches on some core problems facing the transport system in the State apart from the discrepancies of city transport, we would suggest that the Government should constituted a Committee of three members to examine the entire gamut of the transport shortfalls and make suggestions to the Government including financial implications of modernizing and streamlining transport in the State. It is a big project and shall require thousands of crore of rupees for modernization.
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