Ill-equipped cops find it hard to prevent jams

AMRITSAR: It seems Amritsar traffic department has completely stopped functioning, given the mess residents have to face on city roads daily. With frequent traffic jams and haphazard parking coupled with hardly any traffic cop to clear the mess, Amritsar seems to be one of the worst cities in the state when it comes to regulating traffic. And, it may not surprising why Amritsar city has no control over the traffic problem. For, there are only 163 traffic policemen, including 22 Punjab Homeguard jawans, manning the traffic at the city with over 12 lakh population, having little or no essential equipment.Former additional deputy commissioner police,traffic, Satpal Joshi said that with handful of instruments like speedometer,alcometer, reflectors, jackets, barricades, torches, etc., traffic police wasnot able to effectively manage the city’s traffic. On any given day, onecan see traffic jams on Queen’s Road, Cooper Road, Bhandari Bridge,Lawerence Road, Circular Road near Gurdwara Shaheedan and most of the interiorparts of the city. Majority of traffic policemen are seen challaningtwo-wheelers and not regulating traffic at important intersections. Sources saidthat traffic policemen were given challan targets to achieve. But only youthbecome their easy target as many traffic policemen were seen lying nakas outsidecolleges and schools for easy achievement of their targets.Denyingthat traffic policemen were given targets, Joshi said challaning works as amajor deterrent in implementing traffic rules. “Amritsaris were not usedto wear helmets, but now majority of two-wheeler drivers wear helmet,”said he.Social activist Deepak Babbar said that the unprecedentedincrease in the number of vehicles on roads poses a serious challenge beforetraffic police. He suggested that merely blaming traffic police wouldn’twork. Schools must make traffic rules education compulsory, hesaid.Additional deputy commissioner of police, traffic, RashpalGhumman, who recently replaced Joshi, admitted that traffic police wereillequipped. A total of 163 policemen -- including two inspectors, 25sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, 114 head constables and constablesand 22 Punjab Homeguards (PHG) jawans -- are engaged in smooth-lining the citytraffic system, he said.