Guwahati: The Guwahati Traffic Police Department as well as the Assam Transport Department at times claim to be quite strict on traffic violators.
However, when seen in the real world, it seems to be a quite different picture.
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Traffic rule violations are at a very high number and on-duty traffic personnel tend to look away.
For example, the most crucial traffic point is the Supermarket intersection in Guwahati.
The road has “no U-turn” points as well as a high police presence as it is just next to the minister’s colony.
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Wrong way violations and rash driving are regular scenes on particular intersections.
On June 22, 2023, it was seen that within a span of just 10 minutes nearly 30 to 40 violations were noticed.
Most of these were through a no U-turn point. What is more interesting is that a few police vehicles are too seen violating the same rule.
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Even police officials can be seen waiting just next to the point but they turn a blind eye to it ignoring the fact that these can lead to serious accidents someday.
It makes one feel as if the “No U-Turn” sign in Guwahati is read by most as a “Yes U-Turn” sign.
Another common violation seen is that when the signal is red, the vehicles do not stop behind the solid line as designated. But, instead, the vehicles stop at the zebra crossing.
Even though several initiatives were announced by the transport department and the traffic branch in Guwahati, no concrete steps were seen.
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Most of the time random checking by the police to track drunk drivers, seatbelt and helmet law violations are carried out just to “impose” fines but these violators are ignored.
The police officials deployed are seen to keep their eyes locked on any truck that they may come across.
Truck drivers often complain of harassment by police personnel even when they have everything clear.
The state transport department in April 2022 announced that any person found driving on the wrong side of the road would have to face a fine of Rs 5000 but this never was implemented in reality.
Apart from the penalty of up to Rs. 5000, a 6-month jail sentence was also mentioned to be there by the transport department.
The Assam Transport Department then in a tweet said, “Driving a vehicle on the wrong side of the lane shall invite penalty up to Rs. 5000/- or imprisonment for a period of 6 months.”
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The initiative remained to be just a random tweet with no implementation as several continued to violate the rules in the city. What turns out to be more shocking is the fact that the violations are usually on some of the busiest roads.
People can be seen taking the wrong way just in front of the Minister’s colony which happens to be a high-security zone as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself lives in the colony.
Another site is under the Ganeshguri flyover where people coming out of the Hengerabari Road would simply head towards the opposite side even if there are police personnel standing.
It is not just civilians, many times, police vehicles can be seen breaking the rules.
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Other locations include Rukmingaon to the Downtown point, ABC point and Bhangagarh-GMC road.
An Official said that while the tweet or the direction was issued, there are not enough resources to monitor the movement of each vehicle.
The official said that most of the time, drives are being carried against people not wearing helmets or seat belts.
The people moving on the wrong way usually put their lives as well as others on the roads but there is no awareness, the official said.
Another said that the matter is being discussed but the implementation might take some time.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the people of Guwahati phase-I of the Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) under the City Police Commissionerate for traffic management and control from ITMS Control Room, Ulubari in the city.
The ITMS is a state-of-the-art citizen-friendly, integrated and responsive traffic surveillance and control mechanism, equipped with cameras at major junctions of the city.
It will help in checking traffic violations and will lead to seamless traffic movement in the city.
In the first phase, ITMS will cover 20 junctions from Nepali Mandir to Khanapara. In the final phase, a total of 94 junctions will come under the ambit of ITMS.
However, even though equipped with high-end cameras, they now only seem only like a “showpiece” as no penalties are being issued using them.
This is similar to the interceptor vehicles which are now turning into scrap metal without being used properly.
Only a few interceptors are in use while come interceptors can be seen parked at lots in a rusted way.