Inefficiency of traffic department irks people:

Srinagar, Nov 12
Increase in traffic density in Srinagar has adversely affected the journey, particularly in passenger vehicles, and routine life of the people. Apart from traffic density, a majority of people hold the traffic department more responsible for the inconvenience.
The negligence of traffic policemen has catalysed the situation. Every now and then drivers breach through traffic rules and regulations. “You need not to have any tracking device to spot a driver red handed violating the traffic rules. It is quite visible but not to the concerned men” said Gowhar Ahmad Shah, a resident of Nishat.
The congestion of vehicles particularly from dalgate to residency road has put people to a lot of inconvenience. Vehicles are parked in front of shops, thus making it difficult for pedestrians to walk and maximises the congestion. “It is a mess. There is no proper parking facility in this business area,” Younis Ahmed Khan, a shop owner at residency road said. He added, “Traffic policemen often themselves violate the rules by allowing their departmental vehicles to ply on restricted routes”.
When asked about the inefficiency of traffic department in performing its duty, Shafqat Atar, SI traffic said, “It is a misconception among masses. It is not the only department to be blamed; R & B and licensing authority also have their share of responsibility. Roads are not wide enough to carry the burden of two way vehicular movements and what will happen when illiterate and disabled people are provided with driving licenses. We are helpless”.
“We are not able to cope up with the rate of traffic flow because since more than two decades the staffs have remained the same,” he added.
As long as illiterate, having no knowledge of traffic rules, and disabled people carry licenses, the implementation of electronic traffic signals seems to be far.
People find it difficult to make their journeys in passenger vehicles. “I am always terrified of this thought. Last year i had nearly missed my examination. Despite my insistence driver kept on overloading the bus and made to run it at a snail’s pace. Then i was compelled to hire an auto in order to save my career” laments Yasir Amin, a student of Kashmir University.
For bus drivers traffic rules seem to be only a matter of incinerating a cigarette to ashes. They follow and draw their own rules. They have become fearless. “We know how to tackle the traffic policemen. It is just a matter of few minutes”, said Abdul Hamid, a bus driver.
Shifting of blames is not going to heal the wounds. Despite several measures taken from time to time by the concerned authorities, there are numerous loopholes that are still to be plugged and till then the situation and the journey remains affected.