Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 15: Notwithstanding much hype over the ongoing Road Safety Week when cops in blue are generally seen more active and alert, the violation of Traffic Rules is unabated particularly by the passenger vehicle operators, which is proving fatal for those travelling in such vehicles and pedestrians.
Making mockery of the Road Safety Week, the operators of passenger vehicles particularly mini-buses and autorickshaws can be easily seen flouting the Traffic Rules at their will and whim that too in front of the cops in blue particularly during morning and evening hours.
The flouting of rules with the sole objective of fetching more passengers even during the Road Safety Week is resulting into numerous fatal accidents on the roads. This can be gauged from the fact that around 40 accident cases were reported from different areas of the Jammu in which nearly half a dozen people have lost their lives while over three dozens were injured.
In one of the glaring examples of traffic rules violation is that a rashly driven mini-bus crushed an auto-rickshaw while passing the other vehicle near Patoli Morh, falling under the jurisdiction of Janipur police station, in which ten persons received injuries and were hospitalized.
After the accident, long queues of the vehicle got stranded, leading to traffic chaos, but the traffic cops were not seen, which created manifold problems for the people for couple of hours.
People were seen cursing the cops in blue for their failure to keep check on the vehicles violating the traffic rules, especially on Bantalab-Janipur-Amphalla route.
It is the clear apathy of the Traffic Department to check the traffic rules violations thereby giving the license to traffic rules violators to kill or cause injuries to who so ever comes in their way.
The Traffic Department is not taking passenger vehicles violating the traffic rules to task under relevant Sections of Motor Vehicle Act, leading to loss of precious lives and injuries to many others on regular basis.
Instead of taking harsh steps to check and minimize violation of rules, the Traffic Police personnel are increasing the number of challans and realization of fine during the ongoing “Road Safety Week”, so as to prove their worth before their bosses.
Talking to Excelsior one of the passenger of mini-bus namely Vinay Malhotra, a private company employee flayed the Traffic Department to keep check on the rashly driving vehicles particularly mini-buses.
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