Some ‘Smartness’ can be added to Jammu City even without extra financial inputs

Regulating the city traffic and delivering related public services as slated in rules could be such costless input

DAYA SAGAR

Every time when some new government / administration elections to the state legislatures or takes over statements become media headlines where the elected public representatives assure ‘now onwards’ they will give good governance by making the non performing government machinery work and thereby securing the common man against any direct or indirect material exploitation. In cities like Jammu the bills/ hoardings informing the people that they are being serviced by Jammu Smart City Ltd are common site where one can find structures being erected/ rehabilitated / refurbished with the funds provided to UT of J&K as support finances for developing Jammu as smart city but at the same time the continuing poor state of services being provided by civic infrastructure / civic services could also be a common site in the shape of the mini busses randomly parked even near the no parking signs in areas around Vikram Chowk in Smart cities like Jammu , , hardly any mini bus driver wearing a uniform or seat belt ( yes private cars are spotted individually for challan ), the traffic light signals are so often found not working properly, the public parking facilities like that in Kachi Chawani are often found manned by staff bearing no identity badges and the persons who park vehicles are often complaining of over charge ( may be since the rates for 2024 are not prominently displayed ) , atleast every 3rd vehicle in the city can be found during the evening / night hours running with banned dazzling lights which also reduce the traffic speed as well as can cause accidents ( How RTO passes such cars / vehicles / bikes and how they escape the sight of traffic police could be any body’s ‘imagination. Even in 1970s/1980s the traffic police used to enforce the custom of blacking the upper half of the head lights even when provision for using dipper during night existed ), Jammu city has no metered taxi cab on road almost and the three wheeler taxi that could be seen fitted with meter runs violating the fare norms with using the meter ( where ever fixed by the transport department ).
All ‘indicators’ of ‘good governance’ like a few quoted here require no additional financial inputs from the side of government and in case are cared for would add to smartness of a city like Jammu.
What to talk of areas & provisions that require larger inputs for delivery of common services to the citizens even a Three Wheeler Taxi in Jammu city ( where more than 100 Lakh yatries visit only for Mata Vaishno Devi Ji Shrine / Delhi ) where may it be local traffic police / police/ weights and measures department / Regional transport authority no one has been able to make the Three Wheeler Taxi meters run as per government approved rates and so often visitors/ tourists/pilgrims are seen raising notes on road side. It would be a rarest or the rare sights to find a Three wheeler Taxi operating on metered fare or an auto driver not arguing with the prospective passengers and demanding fare as high as even 2 to 3 times of the government approved fare or refusing to operate on the meter. The prospective commuters have been paying whatever is demanded and a few who might have ventured into lodging complaints too have surrendered finding no results.
In case the three wheeler taxi runs on meter many local citizens may avoid using their personal cars in city thereby taking atleast 15 to 20% local traffic off. Many people do not use Three Wheeler Taxi as protest against overcharging.
May be the auto taxi operators too have economic compulsions but for that they should have taken up with the government instead of overcharging the passengers and had the commuters been not satisfied with the rates fixed by government they would have taken up the issue with the government and not quarreled with the auto operators. Whatever may be “one’s” compulsions, no one has the right to break the law. Why do not people complain to nearby traffic police officer , may ask some but the people asking the question too do not complain, why ? Local Jammu as well as Srinagar print media has been regularly carrying the tales of the woes of the passengers suffering from over charging by the Three Wheeler Taxi operators (Jammu has no metered car Taxi service at present).
Good , let government review their demands including fixing the min fare ( meter down charges) and subsequent rate / km travel along with weight/ extra luggage/late night (after 11PM till 4 AM ) but in the mean time government must ensure that no auto taxi runs without meter / flat rates during the intervening period.
It has been learnt that pleading high operational costs the Three Wheeler Taxi (auto) operators are demanding the fare increase of something like Rs.50/- minimum meter down for first 2 kilometers, some local groups have come in support of the agitating operators and at the time some also plead that government should ensure that the fares already fixed by government must be immediately got enforced and the impact of any increase, if ordered, must be weighed with the burden on the common commuter who is already loaded with so many direct / indirect taxes ( particularly the fixed income non- government segment ).
Those who look for leading Jammu into a smart city frame must introspect that do they deserve to be called ‘smart’ when they cannot even make a metered Three wheeler taxi ‘operator’ to charge from the commuters a fair fare as fixed by government itself that too when it needs no capital input from the state exchequer ? And if they cannot, should the commuters also go on “strike”.
(The writer is a Sr Journalist &
Social activist).