No one can deny the fact that the roads on which mini-buses ply as public transport witness the most chaotic and unruly scenes as the operators of these vehicles give two hoots about the traffic norms meant for streamlining the vehicular movement across the region.
Though the cases of drivers of these mini-buses indulging in rule breaking is common but reportedly Police Station Jhajjar Kotli has taken the right step by registering a case against the driver of an overloaded minibus after it was found being driven in a rash and negligent manner at Dansal market setting an example for others. The aforesaid minibus was plying from Manwal to Domail carrying passengers in a highly dangerous manner, with several people reportedly seated on the roof of the vehicle. The reckless act not only violated traffic norms but also endangered the lives of passengers and other road users.
As J&K witnesses a large number of road mishaps on an almost daily basis, curbing such practices is the need of the hour and police and other concerned authorities should take a cue from the action taken by the Police Station Jhajjar Kotli, in stopping the reckless driving. It is an open secret that the public transport operators often flout traffic norms in the urban as well as rural hamlets with impunity and in number of cases, corruption is behind this undue liberty as authorities remain complacent over the matter allowing wrong practices like overloading, overspeeding and dangerous driving.
This particular case by Jhajjar Kotli Police Station has kindled hope and the higher authorities should ensure that traffic cops remain on tenterhooks to ensure that no entity on roads of Jammu and Kashmir dare to flout the traffic rules especially the public transport operators, who have the onus of ferrying the passengers safely to different destinations across the Union Territory.
In the aforesaid case and all other cases akin to this one, the police should ensure that the ‘culprits’ should face the law without any leniency as it is the matter of lives of common people using roads and transport. Traffic Police has the greater responsibility in the matter as it is particularly responsible for safe passage of vehicles on the roads and taking the cognizance that no one breaks rules while commuting to put his or her life in danger or of the fellow commuters.
Considering the number of accidents being reported in J&K, one can say that the concerned authorities have so little time to carry out the required change in the mindset of the communities navigating vehicles on the roads making it necessary for the traffic cops and others to work diligently on transforming roads and traffic movement safe and convenient.
