Traffic cops' hold on...to no avail

By Marri Ramu

HYDERABAD, JULY 13. What are the options left for the traffic police to man the vehicles jumping signals? A very few and it seems the traffic cop is helpless.

The confrontation between a two-wheeler rider, supported by a small group of people passing by, and a homeguard, a couple of days ago near Begum Bazar, raised this question bringing into sharp focus the vulnerability of the traffic police. Last Friday night, a homeguard of Mozamzahi Market traffic police station attempted to physically stop a scooterist who jumped a red light at the Begum Bazar traffic island. An altercation ensued between the two and in the subsequent reported scuffle, the lady sitting on the pillion fell down. In no time, a mob gathered demanding action against the homeguard for his `objectionable behaviour'.

The argument seemed to snowball into a major controversy what with the MIM legislator, Mr. Asaduddin Owaisi, entering the scene, but the situation was brought under control as the legislator `bargained' for a compromise rather than insisting on action against the `erring' policeman. This is not a isolated incident in the city. Such heated arguments between road-users and the police have become a common feature.

"Most of the times we are at the receiving end," the traffic policemen argue. There have been cases of assaults also. Recently a constable, Subba Rao, had his jaw broken when he was attacked by a two-wheeler rider. The reason was that the mobike rider was sought to be stopped when he was jumping the signals at Chaderghat.

What are the police supposed to do, if they notice someone jumping a signal or violating a traffic rule. In all instances, some effort would be made to stop the motorist immediately and if it is not possible, the registration number of the vehicle is noted down. Such numbers would later be sent to the `serve notices' wing at the Police Control Room. This wing will find out the addresses of the vehicle owners from the Road Transport Authority office and notices for payment of the stipulated fine amount are served.

But even this system has its own limitations since serving a notice for payment of fine on a vehicle registered outside Hyderabad might require incurring of expenditure more than the fine. A policeman on traffic duty said that it would be humanly impossible to note down numbers of all the speeding vehicles violating rules. Even if an erring driver was intercepted, particularly during peak hours, the road would be jammed in seconds with vehicles piling up several kilometres. The inadequate manpower in the traffic police has only aggravated the problem.

Speaking to The Hindu, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mr. M.V. Dinakar Prasad, said unless the principle of "policing by consent" was practised, no amount of regulation or monitoring would help in making the general public stop when the red signal is on and move only when green signal is given.

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Section  : Southern States
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