Patna, Jan. 14: Patna would do well to take a leaf out of the Darbhanga model to solve its perpetual traffic woes.
The recently launched traffic awareness week (January 11 to 17) notwithstanding, the city continues to grapple with the problems. The transport department has advised personnel concerned across the state to adopt the Darbhanga model.
Darbhanga senior superintendent of police (SSP) Maharaaj had earlier requested the transport department to delegate powers to the police to impose fine and issue notices for violating rules. Earlier, the police in Darbhanga were not empowered to do so.
When contacted, Maharaaj said: “The Darbhanga police observed a traffic awareness week recently in which students of different schools, colleges and coaching institutes played an active role. The students were imparted specialised training by experts. In addition, programmes were launched to seek cooperation of people belonging to different walks of life.”
The measures taken by the police in Darbhanga, around 145km northeast of Patna, has not only streamlined problems but has also jacked up sales of helmets and shoes. These two items have been made mandatory by cops for two-wheeler drivers, be it male or female. According to a rough estimate, over 25,000 helmets have been sold in the past month.
The impact of the order of the SSP can be gauged from the fact that school kids now remind their parents to wear helmets and shoes while going outside on their motorbikes. “I was taken aback when my eight-year-old daughter Anamika, a Class V student, asked me to wear helmet and shoes when I was leaving home for office, said Sanjay Kumar, a banker. The implementation of traffic guidelines has reduced 60 to 70 per cent of road accidents in the town, which had earlier gained notoriety for being a safe hideout of operatives of Indian Mujahideen, a terror outfit responsible for the Gandhi Maidan blasts in 2013.
Before the launch of the traffic awareness week, the police had identified 10 spots in the town, which witness traffic bottlenecks. The principals and headmasters of both government and public schools were asked to change the closure time, as most school buses carrying children remained stuck in traffic jams.
“Closed-circuit television cameras were installed at certain points to monitor activities of cops as well as the pedestrians and drivers,” the SSP told The Telegraph over phone on Wednesday.
“I have directed policemen not to harass traffic violators. I have told them to serve notices with the evidence (photographs taken from CCTV footage) on the addresses mentioned in the owner book of their vehicles. The amount of penalty would depend on the sections under which the vehicle owners are booked,” he clarified. The officer has earlier served as Patna SSP.
