Not one, not two but there are numerous such police check posts which do have the barriers acting as bottlenecks for the traffic but the utmost necessary thing viz. the cops meant for checking usually are found missing at these Nakas for a considerable period of time in a day.
The best example of the same is in the heart of the Jammu city, at the old Tawi Bridge where traffic comes from the Bikram Chowk side. For maximum period of time in a day these barriers erected at this Naka force the vehicles to snarl creating traffic jam unnecessarily because hardly there is a police man standing at this Naka or even if there are a few men in khaki standing nearby, they often show no interest in having a glance at the passing vehicles.
This is just a single example which shows the dismal state of affairs as during the peak hours, the barriers raised and stationed at this Naka cause nuisance by heavy jam of vehicles making things go haywire as the crossing is one of the busiest in the city.
Most of the time, similar situation can be seen at the other end of the same bridge at Dogra Chowk because there also a permanent Naka has been installed, which also gives nightmarish experiences to the commuters as the checking schedule at that Naka is also erratic and for several hours the makeshift edifice is creating hurdles for the traffic. If one can point out all such Nakas which are seldom used by the cops for checking but hamper the traffic flow all the time, the book of this list will become voluminous as the UT has a number of such so-called check posts.
It is understandable that there are several Naka points which have barriers of permanent nature but in most of the cases these barriers are moveable or one can say portable thus the police officers should ask their subordinates manning these Nakas to remove the aforesaid barriers when there is no checking going on to ensure smooth flow of traffic especially during the night hours because these barriers which often lack reflectors and proper lighting arrangements also pose a high risk to the commuters.
There is no doubt in the fact that J&K being a sensitive state as far as security is concerned but that doesn’t mean that people should be put to difficulty and danger by such kind of lethargy.
