Published On : Mon, Jun 22nd, 2015

NMC fails to overcome water-clogging on roads, irrepaired traffic-booths

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Nagpur: Almost every-day, the police press-note informs the media personnel about the action initiated against drunken drivers. Many traffic cops are assigned to major squares to apprehend drunken drivers. Due to dearth of staff, these traffic cops have to perform this duty after their regular duty hours. They do not get any recognition for their hard work by the citizens. On the contrary, many cops get abused and manhandled too.

While speaking exclusively to Nagpur Today, Deputy Commissioner of Police Bharat Tangde said that instead of seeing this move as a way to ensure accident free roads, many people with connections in the right places would pressurize them to release drunken drivers.

DCP Tangde claimed that at the moment they have twenty (20) Breath Analyzers. In order to ensure that the machine records the smell of some liquor (available nowadays, which does not emanate any smell) the Traffic Department has got the Breath Analyzers calibrated to record the alcohol in the breath of drunken drivers.

However, DCP Tangde claimed that many boozers oppose the action initiated by the Traffic Department. While explaining this, DCP Tangde claimed that in an incident which occurred in Jaitala, when the traffic cops apprehended a drunk driver, he attempted to break his own head so that he could implicate the cops. However, the cops prevented this move by the drunken driver, and managed to apprehend him, and as a result he is now cooling his heels in the police lock-up.

Lack of proper Traffic Booths
When pointed out that at many squares, the traffic booths are non-functional, and are used by unwanted elements and beggars as shelter, DCP Tangde said, he has identified 62 Traffic Booths all over Nagpur city and has submitted a written request to Nagpur Municipal Corporation to get them repaired before the start of summer season, however even after the severe summer season passed and the monsoon has started, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation has not bothered to get the Traffic Booths repaired as yet. As a result, the Traffic Cops have to stand in the sun and now heavy rains to ensure a smooth flow of traffic and that no one violates the traffic rules.

Water-clogging continues at various places in the city
Before the monsoon started, DCP Tangde had undertaken an exercise of identifying the usual spots where water-logging takes place every year. He claimed that the Traffic Department had informed in writing to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation about 53 spots where water-clogging could take place. They had also pointed out the open drains and sewers which could cause fatal mishaps. Unfortunately the Nagpur Municipal Corporation did not bother to get these spots repaired or make arrangements to prevent water-logging. This apathy and negligence on the part of Nagpur Municipal Corporation did cause a fatal mishap on June 21, 2015. According to DCP Tangde, a youth fell down in an open sewer in Dhantoli and was washed away towards Hudkeshwar area. He added that the Fire-Department and other officials attempted to trace the youth but could not succeed.