Sagar Watch/ Holding meetings to control unruly traffic has virtually become a regular practice in Sagar city. The townspeople are no longer influenced by such news.It has now become a well-known fact in the city that most of those who are concerned about getting the traffic back on track are also responsible for creating obstacles in the smooth flow of traffic and harboring those who spoil the traffic system.
There are many reasons responsible for the disorganized traffic system. Some of the important factors among them are inaction of the regional transport department, negligent traffic police staff and incompetent administrative officers.
Till now they have not developed any system that can continuously monitor the smooth functioning of traffic in the city. Whenever any untoward incident happened, they would become alert and after taking some cosmetic steps would again return to their regular life.
It is being said that less than a fourth of the passenger vehicles plying on the roads in the city have licenses. How is this possible? Which department's failure should this be called? Of the transport department or the traffic police?
Whose failure is it, the traffic police or the district administration, in pitching tents on the crowded streets of the city and allowing the program to continue for weeks?
Whose failure is it to not stop hand cart traders and street vendors from disrupting traffic on the city's busiest roads? Of the traffic police or of the district administration? Is it not the responsibility of the public representatives to give advice to these businessmen?
On one hand, the Municipal Corporation collects fees from hawkers and those setting up shops on the streets of the city, while on the other hand, other departments of the administration remove them considering them as encroachers. So who is responsible for these double standards? Municipal Corporation, Traffic Police or whose administration?
Even though the traffic police seems to be lax in regulating the traffic in the city, the agility of the police is visible in issuing challans on the issues of helmets, wrong number plates and trendy silencers on two-wheelers. If even half of this efficiency effort is put into improving the traffic, the picture may change to a great extent.
The level of morale and wisdom that is expected from the district administration to bring the city's poor traffic system back on track is also visible in their statements and actions.
For example, recently when the media raised the issue of freeing the market streets of the city from the clutches of hand cart traders with the top officer of the district, a very shocking reply was received from the administration.
It was said that if the people setting up shop on the road do not move away then it would be better if people stop buying goods from them and when there is no sale then they will stop setting up shop there.
These are some questions and there will be more questions which have not been revealed yet. Those concerned about improving city traffic will have to answer these questions? Unless a concrete and long-term plan is implemented, it does not seem easy to improve the city's traffic system, which almost always seems to be derailed.
