Jamshedpur: Alleged collusion between traffic cops and auto-rickshaw drivers on Tatanagar overbridge is giving commuters nightmares.
The 400-metre overbridge, which is used by more than 60,000 vehicles daily, is the only way for the residents of Baridih, Telco, Golmuri, Sidhgora, Agrico, Birsanagar and Burmamines to reach Tatanagar station.
"Despite the presence of traffic policemen barely few metres away near the Jugsalai end of the overbridge, auto-rickshaw drivers brazenly flout traffic norms and park their vehicles on it near the slipway passage to the station leading to frequent snarls. Whenever popular trains arrive, these auto-rickshaw drivers crowd on the bridge to pickup passengers and block the entire road. A week ago, while returning from the station, my car's bonnet was damaged after colliding with a two-wheeler," said Supriyo Roy (48), a financial advisor and a resident of Sitaramdera.
Although cops regularly conducted drives against illegal auto-rickshaw parking on the 7 metre-wide overbridge, it's back to square one within a few days. "It's not possible for auto-rickshaw drivers to park their vehicles on both sides of the overbridge without the support of police. We have heard that traffic cops take money from them and allow parking. This will continue till senior police officers take action and install CCTV cameras to prosecute the offenders," said Burmamines-based trader Kamal Agarwal.
DSP traffic Vivekanand Thakur said they have conducted several drives against auto-rickshaw drivers who flout parking norms. He also assured of taking stern action against policemen who allow illegal parking. "We do carry out drives against the drivers for parking violation. We will increase the frequency to catch the offenders and the guilty policemen," said Thakur.
Jugsalai traffic police in-charge Jitender Kumar Thakur also assured of action.
"We had recently carried out a drive and will do another one soon. As far as I know, auto-rickshaws start crowding on the overbridge whenever popular trains arrive taking advantage of our manpower crunch at Jugsalai," he said.
