A mess called Traffic

It was a ritual one had to go through, just like driving to office. A week ago, I was told that there would be a Traffic Police-Community Participation on a Sunday morning. I hate to move out of home on a Sunday, skipping shaving and have a late bath, while my better half keeps cribbing about my lazy Sunday attitude.

So, I pushed myself into getting ready for the 11 am meeting driving down to the St Patrick’s School in Secunderabad. There was a motely collection of police officers who looked busy with their manpacks (two way wireless handsets), constables and homeguards. Slowly true to the Hyderabadi style, the late latifs walked in and the meeting began half an hour late.

First, all the VIPs including the Traffic Police, Cantonment Board, HWSSB, APSRTC, CPDCL, and many others were called on the dais. Then to their horror the Traffic Police handling the show realized that they had to make a power point presentation. So out went the banner on the stage and the VIPs were asked to move out of the projector’s path. The senior police official then started reading out a long list of action taken items on points that were raised in the last meeting. That took almost 45 minutes, a sheer waste of time as a print out could have been given out all those participating. Or they could just have shown the slides instead of reading it out all the text from start to finish. By that time everyone was looking at their watches, with the reading boring everyone.

Then came the task asking for suggestions. I grabbed the mike first since I knew, five minutes down the line, it would be a free for all. I was asked my name, my mobile number and my location. I complained about the encroachments on the road from Vikrampuri to Alwal. The police officer who had read out the dhobi list earlier claimed that all encroachments along the road had been cleared. Nothing of that sort had happened, I pointed out. A vegetable vendor next to Ratnadeep Super market has been there from my college days, so was the fruit vendors who occupy the road width in front of HDFC bank in Alwal. I challenged the Traffic Police, Cantonment board and the GHMC to remove them. I know they will not do what they haven’t done from the last 20 years.

Which brings me to the point of having such mindless meetings. What is the point if action is not taken on what are the most obvious traffic bottlenecks? What impedes the Traffic Police from taking action ? The answer lies in the reply the fruit vendor at HDFC bank at Alwal told me when I asked him if he was not scared of his goods being hauled away by Traffic Police. “I pay everyone involved the weekly hafta. Plus the police come in their van and take fruits from me every night”. No wonder why the good intentions of Addl Traffic Commissioner Mr Kaumudi will never work.