DEAR EDITOR,
The journey on the said rout has been becoming more hazardous and tiresome day by day ever since the damage of the bridge over rever Tarnah and the simultaneous construction work taking place along the entire route. The normal journey from Kathua to Jammu by the bus or by the personal conveyance takes hardly two or one and half hours respectively. But it is often experienced that due to bumper to bumper jam of the vehicles on the highway it takes minimum four hours to complete 70 Kms. Journey even in the personal conveyance.
Due to frequent turns and diversions after every two Kms. on the highway and owing to the absence of the traffic police meant for regulating and managing the traffic results in the traffic jam on the entire route with the result the vehicular traffic is compelled to creep with snail’s pace on the road. Many times the vehicles collide with each other causing great loss to the vehicles involved and the inmates. It is very sad rather disgusting in spite of the big army of the traffic police deployed along the route for the purpose of managing and regulating the traffic no such traffic constable is seen on the duty except a few loitering along the road away from the jam busy in chatting on the mobiles with their back towards the jam. For the last two three days regular journey on the forty five Kms.
Stretch from Vijaypur to Kathua, I found only four traffic constables and two officers fishing in the troubled waters on the highway without caring for discharging their assigned duty. It is amazing how the pilots of the motorcade of some VIP, bureaucrat or ministers managed a free passage to the speeding motorcade while the stranded vehicles along with the perspiring passengers on board left to suffer.
It is, therefore, requested to direct the traffic police to keep a vigil on the traffic and resolve the traffic jamming for hours together on the road. The higher officers of the traffic department should take the cognizance of dereliction of the duties by the erring officials and bring them to the books , as they, traffic police, is meant for the facilities of the public and not the public for them. The matter being serious and urgent needs immediate attention.
By: Shiv Kumar Padha