Banibrata Basu, joint commissioner of Calcutta Police (traffic wing), met readers of The Telegraph in his office last week to answer their queries. Participants included Md. Amiruzzaman, Diptimoy Ghosh, Ajay Pal, Jaidip Moitra, S.H. Khan, Soham Chakrabarty, Ananga Ghosh and Srinjoy Basu

Ananga Ghosh: Some drivers of buses or autorickshaws play music in full blast. At times, the sound becomes unbearable, combined with the noise of the road.

This is a recent trend, and it is catching on. It is not only a nuisance for passengers but also risky for the drivers, who can?t hear the horn of a vehicle behind his. Legally, we can prosecute the vehicles if the sound can be heard beyond 10 feet from it.

However, as the vehicles move fast in heavy traffic, it is not possible to stop the driver and prosecute him. Generally, in such cases, a policeman on duty notes down the number of the vehicle. Later, we send a notice to the owner about a penalty that he has to pay. If a complaint is lodged against any autorickshaw-driver, we slap a case against him.

Amod Dasgupta: Why has the spot-fine system been discontinued?

We have some legal problems in collecting spot fines. According to our rules, nobody below the rank of inspector can collect fines in cash. The spot-fine book lies with the officer-in-charge of a particular police station, and the officer often takes rounds on the streets. Spot fines can be collected only when he joins our traffic officers.

Ajay Pal: The traffic police organise only one awareness week a year, focussing on schoolstudents. Why can?t the campaign be continued around the year, including people of all ages and from all walks of life?

At the moment, we do not have the manpower to undertake such an extensive awareness drive.

The idea of a round-the-year drive is very good. But we will not be able to sustain the programme for want of enough personnel and funds. If any school wants to organise such a campaign, the authorities may contact our deputy commissioner, or write to me.

S.H. Khan: Are the vehicles of senior officials exempted from traffic laws?

No, even senior officials are not above the law. However, under the Motor Vehicles Act, police and army vehicles are exempted from laws when they are on emergency duty.

S.H. Khan: Traffic police had taken a lot of steps to stop taxi refusal, but the menace continues. This is because the punishment is borne by taxi-owners, and not the drivers who refuse passengers.

We have been successful in our drive against the menace. Whenever you are refused by a taxi driver, try to locate the nearest traffic officer and complain against the taxi.

When we slap a case, we seize the licence of the driver and ask the owner to pay the fine. The owner is registered with us. He, subsequently, deducts the amount from the driver?s payment. Thus, though indirectly, the driver, too, is punished.

Md Amiruzzaman: Often, we see autorickshaws causing congestion on the roads. The problem is acute in the Chandni Chowk and Moti Sil Street areas. Besides, buses are often seen parked in front of Welland Gouldsmith School, barely a few yards from Lalbazar.

On several routes, autorickshaws ply in far greater number than allowed. The motor vehicles department often sanctions vehicles on a route without paying any attention to the route width or the terminal destinations where those vehicles can be parked.

Moreover, the Barasat and Alipore RTOs sanction permits to autorickshaws that ply in our area.

As for the second query, we are aware of it. We have to relax the rule for those vehicles. There will be another chaos if the buses are not allowed to park in front of the school.

Concluded