This piece I dedicate to my colleague  Assadulah Hakim who died in a traffic accident at Awantipora on 09-01-2012 while coming to attend his duties in chilly winters. He was a temporary worker since  last seventeen years, waiting for his permanent order till he went to the permanent home leaving behind three  daughters his wife and a son! We miss him very much at SKICC
Once again   GK  has taken cognizance of a very serious problem of the traffic scenario of our state particularly in the valley. It is rather surprising  to see chief ministers and other politicians expressing concern over the alarming  rise in the traffic accidents which has become a routine now. They have the power, capacity and resources to be the change agents and bring the  change  in the traffic system in  our state and by issuing mere statements can only disappoint the masses at large and add to their helplessness which they have been already facing in this road rage which is prevalent on every road of Kashmir valley. It is heart rendering  to see precious lives being lost every day everywhere because of the undisciplined and mismanaged  or unmanaged traffic system. The people who have been at the helm of affairs  at have to be blamed  first, as they lack vision and foresight.
J&K has been promoted rightly as the paradise on earth but should have been maintained & furnished with such kind of infrastructure as well.
The appeals and awareness campaigns have no impact in our valley at least unless it is done for some other reason ! We have to accept this that traffic police helplessness is very much visible as they turn as mere spectators in this terrific traffic mess. Surprisingly  if an army man comes to control, the impact is fast & effective, this shows our mindset, our tipper drivers, sumo drivers & truck drivers drive  like machomen on the already small column sized  roads and add to the miseries of common passengers.
The temporary solutions can be to activate the traffic department and give then more powers & man power further let the army also help in traffic management at least they can help in maintaining the single line,  the modern hightech equipment has to be installed on the national highway to monitor the speed limits and indiscipline driving which can be caught  on camera and at the next point such drivers or vehicles can be stopped and punished. Let some NGO. take up the cause of making the passengers aware so that the passengers can control the driver if he does a wrong turn, over taking,  double line, rash or drunk driving. In fact,  let the punishment be the  cancellation of the permit of the vehicle and driving license of the driver. Meanwhile for a long term solution let our leaders, bureaucrats and technocrats   open up their hearts and minds and extend this openness  to develop big wide roads & long lasting  infrastructure .

(Shahnawaz Ahmad is Research officer at Sheri Kashmir International Convention Complex, SKICC)

Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 IST