Srinagar, Dec 6: In violation of the High Court directions, tippers and other load carriers allegedly ply on the City roads during the no-entry hours in the evenings while the traffic cops on duty find themselves weak to check the menace.
 Even though the tippers are to be allowed entry into the City only after 8 PM, but for now one can find them zooming in the City centre of Jehangir Chowk and other areas some half an hour early.
 This obviously poses risk to the public movement.
 “They tippers zoom past so fast that one has to park his vehicle on the side of the road till the convoy escapes from the sight,” said Ghulam Mustafa, a businessman in the City centre.
 “And some of the tippers even don’t have a number plate. This means if they crush someone, the crime will go unnoticed,” he added.
 But the regulatory force has its own take on the issue.
 When a group of beat constables at the entry point to the City, on the highway, were asked why they allowed the tippers to flout the norms, the cops had a shocking reply.
 “We don’t want to risk our life by confronting with them alone… There have been several incidents when our colleagues had to face the wrath,” the beat lot said.
 One of them had more to add. “We aren’t armed like other policemen. What if somebody attacks us? Who will come to our rescue in the dark as there’s no other police guard on duty in the area,” he explained requesting not to be named.
 Sources said the senior officials in the Traffic police department are in the know of the issue.
 They said the “staff starved” department has already sought assistance from the Jammu and Kashmir Police force.
 “The government has been requested to provide assistance at the beats by way of proving armed police personnel or some other contingency at the entry points so that the menace is fought tooth and nail,” said a source.
 Pertinently, the coalition government continues to be seemingly callous towards the City developments.
 Leave apart the shortage of workforce, the City’s traffic police doesn’t even have a full fledged in-charge as the SSP Rural Traffic is holding the additional charge of the  Srinagar affairs.
 This is despite the fact that majority of traffic plies on the summer Capital streets which often witness pesky jams.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Dec 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Dec 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 7 Dec 2010 00:00:00 IST