The new traffic rules and the road chaos
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: February 14, 2012 -

Satyajit Usham from the desk

In a move to ease traffic congestion in the main commercial hub of the state, the Government of Manipur has enforced yet another new set of traffic rules in Khwairamband Market and its surrounding areas on trial basis for a period of one-month with effect from February 13.

Apart from converting Paona Bazar and Thangal Bazar into pedestrian zone, new norms for parking motor vehicles in and around Imphal have also been put in place.

The decision to convert the two important market segments as pedestrian zone and introduction of new parking norms was said to have been taken during a joint meeting of the Transport Department and the Traffic Control Police some days earlier.

Accordingly, entry of all types of motor-vehicles in Paona Bazar and Thangal Bazar areas have been barred from 9 am to 1 pm and again from 3 pm to 5 pm every day, although there is no change in the existing traffic norm during the remaining hours of the day.

Earlier, the motor-vehicles were allowed entry in the said market areas under one-way traffic rule. Under the new traffic rules, vehicles of the residents in the two market areas have to leave before 8 am and come back only after 6 pm. However, one would be allow to park his/her vehicles if they have own garage and certificate of owning the garage.

It may be too early to say anything conclusively on the effectiveness of the new traffic regulations in easing traffic congestion on the roads of Imphal, which have become a virtual nightmare for both the pedestrians and the vehicle-drivers.

However, within two days of enforcing the new traffic rules it is increasingly becoming clearer that the solution to the problem of traffic congestion on the roads of Imphal is here to remain elusive for long.

Even if the new traffic rules have eased traffic congestion and given free movement to pedestrians within Khwairamband Market, particularly, along the normally busy road stretch of Paona Bazar and Thangal Bazar, the spillover effect of the new traffic norms has created even more serious traffic chaos in the periphery.

With enforcement of the new traffic norms, roads in the periphery of the commercial hub have become more crowded than ever before with moving as well as parked vehicles jostling for space, and traffic movement reducing to nothing but a snail's pace.

The problem has been felt even more acutely along the Kanglapat Road stretching from Khuyathong Traffic Point to the Traffic Island in front of Governor's Bungalow, which is also a portion of the National Highway-39 (Imphal-Dimapur Road) and where the movement of traffic is expected to be free from any hindrance.

Now the question is why the Government, particularly, its Transport Department and the Traffic Control Police, has time and again fall short of zeroing on more effective measures to manage the traffic along the roads of Imphal?

Mind you, the latest set of traffic rules has come about after more than a dozen of traffic rules have been tried and tested with half-hearted effort during the last couple of years.

If the officials of the Departments concerned could not think of or come up with some concrete measures that may outlast the problem in hand, why can't they consult experts from other states where management of traffic seems to be an effortless job and the task is assigned to the most able, fit and tough man or woman.

Unlike in other cities of the country where a single traffic policeman or woman can control the traffic entirely at any junctions, it is rather interesting, nay, funny to see uniformed personnel with Ak-47 Rifles dangling on their sides assisting untrained VDFs and Home Guards in manning vehicular traffic on the roads of Imphal.

It says everything on the system of traffic management in Manipur, and we rest our case here.