Scrap the ‘reward component’ from the Traffic Sentinel Scheme - By Nisser Dias

More than a year after the ‘Traffic sentinel scheme’ was introduced by the Goa police department, vehicle owners have started feeling the heat as a result of which motorists along with elective representatives have began targeting the sentinels.

It started in Ponda when the members of the public used force and threat to close down a business. In Borda a sentinel was caught, abused and his mobile snatched by public, interestingly one traffic sentinel was part of this mob. In Vasco another was caught, beaten, his car damaged and turned on its side.

Margao Municipal Councillors along with former Congress chief minister Digambar Kamat held a protest rally. Congress Mahila president has condemned and demanded withdrawal of the scheme.

The anger towards the sentinels is because the general public along with lawmakers want the lawlessness, indiscipline and rowdiness to continue on the road. While the role of the sentinels is being questioned, nobody is ready to condemn the traffic violations.

Undoubtedly there are pros and cons of the scheme. From the very introduction of the scheme, it should have been promoted as a ‘social service’ to curb traffic violations.

Director General of Police Muktesh Chander the architect of scheme did not apply his mind. He completely lacked the foresight. He envisaged downslide in traffic violations and generation of revenue. He developed a win-win game for the government and sentinels without taking greed factor into consideration. And the result is while the government coffers are being filled, the traffic have gotten greedy.

Lakhs of motorists have been issued fines for various traffic violations since the scheme was introduced, the government has also earned crores of rupees in revenue but the success story is yet to be written.

The final judgment is still out there to analyse the success of the scheme and that verdict is whether motorists in Goa have imbibed the need for discipline driving, obeying traffic rules, value for one’s life and that of the other and more importantly whether the motorists have understood that licence to drive is a privilege and not a right.

A casual observation - be it in cities or on village roads – motorists have discarded the ethics of driving to the dustbin. Speaking on the mobiles while driving is rampant everywhere, driving against the  flow of traffic or through no entry zones, multiple driving on two wheelers is widespread, speeding, jumping lanes while driving on the highways, driving without wearing helmet and seatbelts is all abusively prevalent.

The transport department, the licensing authority (RTO) and the traffic cell have all utterly failed in its duties to inculcate fear of law in the motorists.

Director General of Police Muktesh Chandar in November 2017 showing concern for increasing motor accidental deaths hit upon this idea of ‘traffic sentinel scheme’ through society policing – one could also interpret it as soft vigilantism.

For a year the cash registers have been ringing incessantly. As per police statistics the traffic cell handed out lakhs of rupees, cars and bikes to the traffic sentinel. Rs. 25 lakhs earned from this scheme was paid to Goa Electronics Ltd. (GEL) to develop a Traffic sentinel APP.

The success of scheme is good news but on the flip side - sentinels saw opportunity for full time employment, some other saw prospects of enhancing their income while the police department was busy filling the otherwise empty government coffers.

That was the failure of the scheme. The ingredient of social service was lost in the bargain as the focus remained on generating revenue by enrolling every tom, dick and harry as a traffic sentinel. More than five thousand have enrolled as traffic sentinels. One can image how much of revenue is being raked in.

Infact police data indicate that they have received as many as 600 traffic violations in a day from a single sentinel. The data also indicate that the police have paid as much as Rs. 8 lakhs for a single sentinel.

These figures were sufficient enough for police to realize that something was going wrong with sentinels but they did not pay heed to it as they were raking in huge ‘moolah’ and the violations were not showing any signs of decline.

Instead the violators found the solace they wanted in the politicians who are ready to sell their soul to keep their flock intact to win yet another elections. Councillors started making noises and carried out public protests, Congress politicians extended their support to violators, even a lady who is trying hard to get a Congress parliamentary tickets has denounced the scheme and demanded its withdrawal citing security reason for women.

But this is all talk and demands in the air as none of the politicians have demanded that the reward part of the scheme be done away with. The moment the reward component is withdrawn and the scheme is made totally ‘social service’ 90 percent of the sentinels whose main motto is reward money will rapidly withdraw from the scheme and only those genuine sentinels who want to see a decline in motor vehicle accidents, want discipline driving will stick with the scheme.

The next step should in the interest of sentinels who stick to scheme purely on social service basis. They should be armed with identity cards issued by the government. The government has also to put mechanism in place for the safety of the sentinels in line with that of the government servant.

Domestic tourists continue to drink, cook, litter in the open, while Goa govt is in slumber. -- By Nisser Dias

In 2017 the nuisance of domestic tourists cooking by the roadside and in open spaces had been raised in the Legislative Assembly after media had highlighted the issue.

A visit to Colva beach on January 1, 2019 revealed that Indian tourists cooking, eating, drinking and littering the area in the children park, which is right behind the tourist police booth and opposite the Colva residency.

Though Chief minister Manohar Parrikar had assured the house that cooking in open spaces and by the roadside would not be allowed and the government  announced that it would form special squads to check on tourists who cook on the roadside and eat there itself, littering the place. A further announcement was made of setting up camping sites for tourists with facilities for cooking and for ablutions during their trip in the State.

More than an year has passed but nothing concrete has happened to fulfil the assurance in the assembly.

When tourism director Menino D’souza was asked about it his reply was stunning as he said, “lots of things are pending and I’m on leave, I’ve have seen it myself and it is a big nuisance but it has to be tackled very sensitively because of other states.”

As usual the domestic tourists have swooped down to Goa to ring in the New Year in buses, tempo travellers and jeeps packed with the utensils, gas cylinders, kerosene stoves and provisions.

After bringing in the new year they have set up their kitchens in the open space and were seen cooking, eating, drinking and discarding the waste right there or the Colva creek without any  inhibitions and fear of the tourist police.

When tourist police on duty was questioned about it, he said, “the top police brass in south Goa have instructed us not to disturb them and the domestic tourists were drinking outside our booth, against the direction of the DGP to penalize such tourists from buying liquor at wholesale outlets and drinking on the beach.”

When pointing out that the tourists were cooking, this cop swung into action and went around to stop cooking but the tourists but the group of tourists only nodded their heads and went about their business.

When the tourists were engaged into conversions, they were really upfront and said they have driven from neighbouring states just for two days, the  cost of lodging and provisions is expensive in Goa, liquor is cheap, so we enjoy and go back, we have been doing this for years.

There were other domestic in groups merrily consuming alcohol in the park, while some were still in sleeping it off. And the tourist police were turning Nelson’s eye to it.

Finishing Goenkarponn. Controversial and caged parrots of a minister stop traditional Christmas dance. By Nisser Dias.

The recent usage of state machinery and police department to disallow a traditional dance being held at Nuvem gave an insight into the arrogance and despotic manner of the minister.

The minister does not need instruction as he was know from his younger days of always commanding people around him and whoever did not toe his line would be handled by goons from Khareband. Hence it is no surprise that to get even politically, that the former lieutenant of goons and now a minister in defunct cabinet used controversial government officers to stop the show.

The minister must have got some sadistic satisfaction out of it but then the voters are going to have the last laugh as his getting voted back to power is very bleak.

Have we forgotten Maclon Fernandes from Curtorim, who made a statement to the entire Goan community all over the globe by selling mangoes and Goan produce from his swanky Skoda car at the Ponda circle. He too was forcibly and high handedly stopped by the police from selling at the spot.

Now we really know the purpose of the Fatorda police station. It is to use these men in uniform like a small personal army to instill fear in rivals. Sadly the rivals are common men like Maclon who tried to eke out his living selling mangoes and Bryan D’souza the organizers of this dance. Both these personalities are not political people. They are proud Goans, who simply want to keep the spirit of Goenkarponn alive, not like the minister who has no known source of income or business but a lavish lifestyle. His only business is to instill fear in people who will not come to him for blessings or favours because they are proud Goans who rather keep their head high rather than lose their respect seeing in company of politicians without morals and values.

Goans who go about their activity with their heads held high and not back stab people for personal gains nor use the government machinery to target others. This minister is a complete crass, he has no moral values absolutely even though his family members are held in high esteem. He is complete debauch, corrupt morally, ethically and even spiritually. He is chameleon who hoodwinked his constituents and sought their votes immediately thereafter backstabbed them thereby showing his true colours.

Dy. Collector Agnelo Fernandes - CBI had raided his
residence and foreign currency and liquor.

It was a well thought and orchestrated plan to disallow the traditional dance and only politicians in power can it. Firstly to delay issuance of license by the Collector’s office than giving an oral go-ahead. Deputy Collector Agnelo Fernandes being on duty on Christmas day, Fatorda police inspector Navlesh Dessai keeping a bus full of policemen ready when on a night the police force is stretched to its limit to stop the dance. It was a game plan well executed.

Coming to the government officers who have no spine to stand-up to ministers and act in the right manner for the common-man through whose hard work officers like deputy collector Agnelo Fernandes and police inspector Navlesh Dessai get paid their salaries.

PI Navlesh Dessai --
The disgraceful police

Agnelo Fernandes is an unworthy controversial government officer, who was raided in the year 2015 by the CBI while he was officiating as a passport officer for allegedly issuing passports to shady characters. It was allegedly that during the entire raid which began at 7.00 in the morning and went on full day, the CBI officers had unearthed 104 bottles of foreign liquor when the permissible limit is just 12 bottles. Even foreign currency was recovered from his residence. Allegedly this officer could be bought over or made to issue passports with a bottle of liquor. Incidentally Agnelo also hails from Nuvem-Kirbhat

The case is yet to be charge-sheeted as it is hanging like a sword over his head and hence in fear must be dancing to the tunes of politicians in power. But Agnelo should realize that one day or the other the case will have to be charge sheeted and by then all the politicians will wash their hands of the case and this controversial official will have to swing alone.

Police inspector Navlesh Dessai is an incompetent, inefficient, unfit police officer who rather does his master bidding than serve the common man. Navlesh would lick his master’s shoes clean if merely asked to bend.

Nisser Dias

Recently police inspector Navlesh Dessai has been conferred with Director General of Police (DGP) insignia award for his meritorious service in the police department. This is utter disgrace for the police department and even more to the Inspector General of Police Jaspal Singh. It seems that the insignia award was conferred upon this useless, toothless, spineless officer at the behest of his political master.

Moreover it is disgrace to an upright IGP Jaspal to agree to confer this award to an officer who has no self-respect and no sense of honor.

The minister involved has denied his role in not allowing the traditional Christmas, but compulsive liar that he is, not only his voters but the Goans all over the world know it will not believe it. All know that the minister sold his soul which he did not have to form an illegal government as he knew that it was his last chance to be an MLA and he had to grab power for reasons we all know.