Only 5 trained men to man traffic flow all over State !
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 28: Of the total strength of traffic police deployed to regulate traffic on the roads of Imphal city, 50 percent are Home Guards while only five traffic police personnel are properly trained from among the lot.

On the other hand, flouting of traffic rules by the people and vehicle drivers alike and lack of co-ordination among the various Departments concerned are mainly responsible for causing traffic jams on the roads of Imphal.

Traffic personnel mans the motorists at Imphal city

These are some of the few facts that come to light during the course of an independent investigation conducted by The Sangai Express. Some 10 years back, traffic regulation on the roads of Imphal was carried out at all the traffic points along with three traffic police officers and two Head Constables who had undergone training at Traffic Police Training Institutes either at Bhopal or Mumbai.

Thus, all the traffic police who were not yet fortunate enough to have such training could learn from their trained personnel.

However, no such arrangement seems to be in place these days.

For the service of the traffic police, the Government provides only two Gypsies, one for the DSP and the other for the Traffic Inspector and one 407 Tata which is used for the transportation of the traffic personnel on duty as well as for mobile duty.

Besides these, Traffic police hire one Jeep for their purpose.

In view of the prevailing unsettling law and order situation, the traffic police are provided with limited number of WT-sets.

However, as there is no provision for motor cycles, it is difficult for the traffic police to rush in and control traffic jams that might occur all of a sudden at certain road juncture on account of disobedience to traffic rules by motorists.

Unlike the police, the traffic police do not have access to provisions of taking legal action against the vendors who display their wares on the pedestrian pavement, thereby causing congestion.

The Government has also been issuing uniform (white shirts and blue trousers) to only 12 traffic police personnel while the rest have to purchase the uniform themselves.

Moreover, on top of not providing necessary uniforms and gloves to be used by the traffic police during night duty, no traffic signal system have been installed anywhere in the city or those installed earlier are not functioning.

Thus traffic regulation work in the city is purely manual.

When questioned whether appointment of a separate SP would help in solving the problems and other difficulties being faced by the traffic police in the State, a traffic police officer who preferred to remain anonymous, replied in the affirmative and went on to say that with appointment of a separate SP for traffic police all the necessary infrastructures would come in place.

With the ever increasing growth of human population, inspite of the limited size of the city, the number of vehicles on the roads have been on the rise.

But there has been no improvement in the condition of the roads, thereby adding more difficulty to the task of traffic regulation.

Digging up the roads which are under the Public Works Department (PWD) in connection with laying cable wires and pipes for BSNL and PHED respectively and then not filling up the same properly and the habit of the general public and shopkeepers to simply throw garbages on the road sides are also other factors that impede the flow of traffic on the roads of Imphal.

Allotment of parking space for vehicles like buses, autorickshaws, rickshaws, etc in the already congested areas areas of the city by the Transport Department and Imphal Municipal Council and lack of proper mechanism to differentiate the parking lots for different types of vehicles are other reasons for traffic congestion in Imphal city.

The duration of stationing a vehicle at a parking lot is also being decided not by the Government but it is at the whim and fancy of the transporters themselves.

Last but not the least, another hurdle in smooth flow of traffic in Imphal city is parking of the vehicles of the security forces including that of the police at any place regardless of the traffic rules.

Traffic regular in the twin districts capital of Imphal is also likely to remain a nightmare for the traffic police in view of the fact that the Town Planning Department has not yet come up with the all important 'traffic plan' of the Imphal city either with the Transport Department or the Traffic Police.