Mr. DGP maintain and regulate traffic movement also while filling government coffers. -- By Nisser Dias

The massive four hour traffic jam at Cortalim on 13^th August causing huge inconvenience and hardship to the general public completely exposed the inefficiency of the Manohar Parrikar led government and its machinery.

Police and PWD kept pointing fingers at each other while the chief minister was comfortably flying to America for medical treatment and check-up at the exchequer’s cost while thousand of tax payers were suffering on the ground stuck in their cars or buses for hours together.

4-hour long traffic jam at Cortalim on Aug. 13th 2018

Just a thought, Aurveda, Ayush, Baba Ramdev and his Patanjali treatment or well publicized ‘Gaumutra’ is for the general public. America and top hospitals is for politicians. Criticize the public for aping West, but for politicians to stay alive West is first option – hypocrites.

Coming back, to a very large extent the traffic chaos has also exposed the Director General of Police Dr. Muktesh Chander (IPS) and his traffic police cell, who have turned themselves into a engine to fill the state treasury sidelining their sole objective of maintaining smooth flow and regulation of traffic.

Traffic Sentinel Scheme, campaign against all violations while driving has not only kept the traffic police busy issuing fines and filling the government coffers, it has given an opportunity for these cops also to fill their pockets as well as line the pockets of their superiors at the cost of completely ignoring regulation of traffic movement in the cities, villages, national highways and state highways.

Traffic police lay siege to issue fines

Majority of traffic police are happy to stand at blind turns and surprise vehicles owners for not wearing helmets or seat belts or speaking on the cell phones and even undertake alcohol test for obvious reasons rather than regulate traffic movement.

In the village of Orlim police attached to Colva traffic cell stopped a labourer driving his scooter. The labourer was reeking of alcohol and even his words were slurring. The cops instead of confiscating or issuing a fine snatched Rs. 500 from him. Interestingly a villager got involved, threatened the police of exposing them and made them return the money.

Police vehicle parked in no parking zone  at South
Goa Police Head Quarters

In Margao, the road between Gracias Maternity hospital and south Goa police head quarters is a one way road, but it is blatantly being violated even in the presence of the police themselves but no action is being taken by the traffic police inspector Mohan Gaude. Margao traffic cell inspector is a complete failure in managing his personnel or traffic. There was fear when his predecessor Praboth Shirvoikar was in that position but now it has vanished in thin air.

All around Margao city traffic rules are being violated left, right and centre due to absence of traffic cops and CCTV cameras surveillance as police are deputed to issue fines and generate revenue.

Traffic sentinel scheme has been a windfall for the government treasury. Traffic and even police attached to stations issue fines again adding to the government kitty and yet the government does not have money to replace batteries of existing CCTV cameras or install more cameras in the cities. CCTV surveillance cell which was set-up closed down more than a year back as the police could not procure batteries for CCTV cameras. 

The traffic scenario in Goa utter chaos. Police issue fines for not wearing helmets or wearing seat belts but they will ignore if a rider wearing a helmet is speeding. Almost every third person uses cell-phone while driving.

Salcete DySP's official car illegally parked on the
National Highway 17

If majority of traffic police are sent or used to generate revenue or fill government coffers, there are bound to be traffic snarls and chaos. For months now since the construction of the unwanted third bridge over Mandovi and road expansion on either side of Zuari bridge have caused immense hardship and suffering for the tens of thousands commuters on daily basis but Dr. Chander did not feel the need to deploy more personnel there for traffic management. On 13^th August it was mother of all traffic jams and police came under severe criticism. Interestingly on 14^th August traffic movement was smooth

Similar snarls are experienced everyday in the cities in Goa during rush hours but nothing is being done to alleviate it.

Director General of Police Dr. Chander may have the best of intentions of bringing about discipline while driving or using vehicles to reduce accidents and deaths on road but he has lost touch with ground reality. He can think and surf many schemes to generate revenue by sitting in his air conditioned office. If he needs to bring about a change he has to come down on the road and walk the talk. He has to haul up his traffic police inspectors, sub-inspectors and other personnel for dereliction of duty.

In many instances accidents are not registered as the police force a compromise. A 72 year old fisherman from Sernabatim is confined to the bed with severely injured spine. Some youngsters driving a jeep on the beach in the dead of the night rammed into him while he was pulling his net. No case has been registered at Colva police station. Last week a youth speeding on his KTM bike rammed into a man driving a scooter at Varca, again no case has been registered. Mr. DGP look into this.

Nisser Dias

If he comes down to ground zero he will realize that not only the general public is violating laws but even his staff. Police vehicles are parked in no parking zones, police officers are zooming in their personal cars with tinted windows, they use mobiles while driving and they even drink and drive.

Dr. Chander can formulate schemes to generate money for the government kitty but he should not forget that the foremost objective of his department is to save life and property and to maintain and regulate traffic movement.

So Dr. Chander, please do your job also.