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| Ahead of Sectt reopening, babus on CM's radar for traffic crisis in Srinagar | | Heads to roll in next cabinet | | Hyder Ali
ET Report
Srinagar, May 7: Having miserably failed in traffic regulation here in the wake of closure of the arterial Jahangir Chowk Ram Bagh (JCRB) road, the officials are resorting to blame-game, which has only festered crisis in the summer capital.
In a bid to hide their individual failures, the top brass in the traffic police and civil administration, has been holding meetings after meetings, which end up as nothing but blame game, while the lower-rung staff is being forced to bear the brunt of disciplinary action including suspensions for "no fault of theirs".
Ahead of the reopening of the durbar move offices, which marks Mehbooba Mufti's debut as Chief Minister in Civil Secretariat in Srinagar, the Peoples Democratic Party led government is understood to have taken a serious note of lack of requisite preparedness on the part of various agencies.
Top sources said apart from the Chief Minister, her advisor, Prof Amitabh Mattoo is keenly monitoring the developments and that action would be taken in the coming days. "Heads are set to roll in the next cabinet meeting," the sources said adding the CM has cautioned the officials to "perform or perish".
This week alone, five major meetings were held to discuss traffic regulation in Srinagar. While one of them was chaired by Mehbooba Mufti herself, the other, two each were chaired by the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Traffic.
Given the "traffic terror", which has gripped the City, for the past over a fortnight, things are getting messier with each passing day; from roads to meeting rooms.
At offices, the first tussle is between the Traffic Police and the civil administration. The traffic police say that the divisional administration failed in timely ground preparedness including road repairs and removal of encroachments from the congested diversion routes.
Apart from office of the Divisional Commissioner and Traffic police, the agencies under scanner include Roads and Building(R&B) department, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation(SMC) and Economic Reconstruction Agency(ERA), which is constructing the JCRB flyover.
While the roads were not repaired ahead of the diversion by the R&B, the department closed the vital Mehjoor Nagar bridge for traffic barely two days after the diversion plan was implemented, only to add to the chaos.
ERA, on the other hand, is being accused of having failed to provide alternative routes ahead of the diversion. But the project executing agency said the "hassle free" prospective diversion via Tulsi Bagh was not given a go ahead by the "VIP's living in the area.
While the civil administration is resorting to arguments to prove each other wrong, the worst is true for Traffic Police where the poor cops, mostly of the rank of constable are bearing the brunt of the infighting among the top brass.
In the past around a week since IGP Traffic Police returned to Kashmir with Durbar, he has placed around half a dozen constables under suspension for "dereliction of the duty". But the ground staff said it was being victimized.
"We get one set of directives from SSP Sahib, another from DIG Sahib and the another IGP Sahib, who keep inspecting our beats only to give contradicting directives, as a result of which get confused on whom should be obey," a delegation of traffic cops told Early Times.
The poor cops, whose colleagues have been placed under suspension, in the past over a week, said Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar must personally look into matter. "We remain on duty for 14-16 hours a day and still we are being placed under suspension for no fault of ours. Such scapegoat punishment will only affect our performance," the cops complained pleading anonymity. The cops said no official was ready to listen to their genuine pleas.
Sources said the government has learnt that there was a total lack of co-ordination within the ranks of Traffic Police and allied departments.
Take the case of SMC. Officials said in the past over a month, the civic body spend over Rs ten lakhs on advertisements to caution people against pavement vending. "Instead the SMC should have acted against offenders rather than issue ridiculous public notices," the officials said.
On the other hand, the role of IGP Kashmir range is equally debatable. "Even though traffic police is running short of workforce with mere 350 cops regulating entire traffic in the summer capital, the police has failed to compensate the dearth though some 5000 cops everyday site idle at the District Police Lines Srinagar," said a top official.
Add to this all, the delay in much-waited shifting of Batamaloo bus stand to Parimpora, a development which can considerably ease out pressure on the diversion route. Even though following a series of news reports carried by Early Times, the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir asked the District Commissioner Srinagar to get the bus stand shifted, the DC has been silent as the Parimpora bus stand has been converted into a slum for political workers, by a politician from the ruling coalition. The Vice Chancellor of Srinagar Development Authority, which owns the Parimpora facility, is equally silent.
Like most of the people, traders are up in arms. "Commercial Activities in the Central Business District have come to a grinding halt since the day this half baked traffic diversion plan was enforced to take entire Srinagar hostage as if some deep rooted conspiracy is underway," complained KTMF President Muhammad Yasin Khan adding the "Chief Minister must act before it's too late." |
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