The government of our ill-fated State has been promising paradise to us but it forgets to kill us for that. We have been shown Sabz-Bagh every now and then but all this proves to be a futile exercise and an eye-wash for the people living here. Besides when we raise our voice to stake our claim for those tonnes of tall talks and not an ounce of practice ordinances and orders and circulars and dictations and blah-blah, they only resort to blame game.
Recently our traffic department issued an order making it mandatory for the public transport operators to keep first eight seats reserved for ladies in all size of buses, whether they are 24 seaters, 36 seaters or 58 seaters. To add to the ridicule there are some banners/posters provided by some private enterprise to be placed right behind the driver’s seat so that the people in general and the ladies in particular can have their right to the seat without any hassle. But most unfortunately the seats are still occupied by men (rather gentlemen as used an antonym for ladies) who never bother to look up at the posters right under their nose.
Frequently, these days, we find women folk having hot exchanges of words with men who occupy these seats. It is a mockery by the traffic department of the state whereby they are enjoying Khwab-e-Khargosh after issuing the necessary formal orders, which are in real sense nothing but a formality.
If the style has been after Delhi, then the whole scenario ought to be adopted. It is, as a matter of fact, a good practice but if implemented in letter and spirit. As we all know that we Kashmiris are in the habit of talking too much, and when it comes to practice, we quickly get deflated. We praise something at home but speak against the same outdoors. Ours is a character and nature that of a chameleon. We always expect that if there is a problem, the government is there to solve it. No surprises if we find our government in absentia. How well said, “absence makes love grow fonder, too much of it makes it vanish”.
Well it is not that I am defending the government but still we must realise that being good and responsible citizens we must learn to use our right. If we expect to have the traffic IG or SSP always at our disposal, we are the wisest fools. If they play their role we too should in turn reciprocate. Though at the same time, I feel that there should have been neat instructions to the drivers and the conductors to see to it that the order was implemented positively and in a healthy manner.
Furthermore, there are some loopholes in the order. For example, it is silent about the fate of the rest of the seats available in the bus, particularly when we talk of big buses that ply on district roads. Are they supposed to have only eight seats for women folk when the total number of seats is about fifty five to fifty eight? I mean whether or not the remaining seats, whatever the number, are to be occupied by ladies. Or who should enjoy the right of privilege in case the seats are empty, though there is a bleak chance for our driver sahibs never leave the station before the buses are filled to the brim. Again, in rural areas there is no such concept at all, though the posters are very much in place.
Authorities must at least keep the system under check for some time so that people will be not only educated but acclimatized too to this new but noble concept of travel. People from almost all walks of life are praising this initiative by the government but there is need to make it practicable.

(Feedback at muzamil_khan08@yahoo.com)

Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 10 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 IST