Srinagar, June 13: Tippers plying in the City continue to unleash terror due to alleged reckless driving while many such speeding load carriers bear no number plates. This simply means that in case of accident, the tipper could escape scot-free as nobody could be able to record its number, something vital to track road accident cases.
 For the past over a year the movement of tippers without number plates, as per the complainants, has become so common that leave apart the old lot scores of new tippers, which have been given fitness certificates by the RTO don’t bear any number plate, particularly on the rare.

THE DEADLY DRIVING
 The tippers and other heavy vehicles are allowed to venture into the City only during the night hours after 8: 30 PM till 7:00 AM. But given the ongoing tourist season when people are out till late, the movement of tippers has been hindering the public movement –irking the locals and the tourists, alike.
 As the speeding tippers start rushing into the City from entry points like Hyderpora, Sanat Nagar, Bemina, Parimpora, Athwajan and Buchpora chowks, the traffic movement ends up in mess.
 Given the alleged fear of speeding tippers, most others driving on the roads prefer to be stuck in traffic jams than dare to move head of the “deadly tippers”.
 Zahoor Ahmed of Barzulla said he was so scared of the deadly tippers that while driving back home, he often parks his vehicle in the lane along the Airport Road till their rush, which “unleashes terror is over”.
 Places like City centre of Lal Chowk, Dalgate, Jehangir Chowk and the Airport Road literally reflect a horrific picture of traffic as the tippers rush in.
 And in a bid to do as many trips as possible, the load carriers drive fast, the complainants said.

COPS MISSING
 The mess is compounded by the absence of traffic cops who mostly go off from road duty at 8:30 PM, the time when the tippers start venturing into the City.
 But then the beat constables who spend the entire day standing to man traffic, have their own plea. “We start our day at 7:30 AM and leave for home at around 8:30 PM what more can we work than 13 long hours a day,” argued a beat constable while leaving for home, requesting not to be named.
 For years, the “staff starved” Traffic police in this summer Capital has been seeking more of men in blue. “But till now, no such concrete step has been taken, which could substantially increase the number of traffic cops,” said a retired police official.

DGP FACTOR
 For now the ball to adequately strengthen the Traffic police seems to be in Director General of Police, K Rajendra’s court who recently chaired a high level meeting on traffic asking his force to make Aam Aadmi feel respite in traffic movement.

STAKEHOLDERS PLEA
 The stakeholders including locals, hoteliers, and others mostly related to tourism industry have appealed the government to extend the no entry hours for evenings so that tippers don’t “mess up the routine traffic flow.”
 “More appropriate would be to allow the tippers to venture into the City only after 10:00 PM, because these days roads are busy catering to routine traffic, and tourists vehicles, the flow of which swells in the evenings when they return from hill resorts,” a group of hoteliers said. 

ADMIN SPEAKS
 District Development Commissioner Baseer Ahmed Khan was busy in a meeting and so didn’t respond.
 When contacted Deputy Inspector General of Police, Traffic Shafkat Watali admitted that the complaints of tippers plying without number plates was pouring in adding their “dangerous speed was a menace.”
 Watali said the matter would first be picked up with the tipper union people.  “Thereafter we are going to start a massive drive and the menace will be dealt with iron hands… You will see a change on this front as well in another fortnight,” Watali told Greater Kashmir.
 To question on extension of No Entry hours in the evening, the DIG pleaded that the timings have been fixed in accordance to High Court directions.
 “However given the tourist season which is an important point, we’ll make tippers avoid routes which cater to huge traffic rush,” Watali said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 13 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 14 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST