Tuesday, 09 May 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Generally one tends to blame the police for challan and lack of parking facilities but even in cases when people are at fault, some hours in the office of Dehradun superintendent of police (Traffic) substantiate the view that attitude of people is a major cause of traffic issues in the provisional State capital. This correspondent spent some time in the SP Traffic office on Monday observing the activities which mostly consisted of the cops tackling the attitude and unreasonable demands of many people who had arrived in the office to express their anger against the traffic police for ‘wrongfully’ towing their vehicle or imposing a challan.
One of the men who claimed to be an advocate stated that there was no ‘No-Parking’ sign where he had parked the vehicle and the police had no right to tow his vehicle and impose a challan. Despite the officials showing him recording of a video showing his vehicle parked on the wrong side before the towing, he was adamant on justifying his action and demanded exemption. Another man had also arrived with the same attitude of justifying parking his vehicle in a public place. Both these men were well educated and appeared to be doing well in their respective professions but their attitude towards police constables was quite unprofessional regarding their complaint of ‘wrongful’ challan. One of them was also speaking about contacting a cabinet minister to complain about this ‘wrongful’ challan by the police, though his claim of having high connections did not save him from facing the legal consequences of his error.
At the same time, the police do try to ensure that those with genuine reasons for temporary lapses are warned but not punished. A man with a leg injury also approached the SP office and said that his companion mistakenly parked his two-wheeler at the wrong place in haste near the hospital as he was getting medicines for him after visiting the doctor. He showed the hospital receipt to the officers and after verifying it, the police asked him not to repeat the mistake in future and exempted him from the challan. A few more people including a senior citizen presented similar situations before the police with valid proofs considering which they were provided exemption. This correspondent observed that most of these people appeared to belong to middle class families and were polite in their conversation with the officials. The officials said that such cases are quite normal on a daily basis and they tackle them accordingly. A few hours in the office of the SP Traffic will make a citizen realise that the government may be responsible for facilitating smooth flow of traffic but it is the citizens who can ensure it.
