Jammu, March 07 (Scoop News)- At a well-attended seminar on “Road Map for Traffic Management in Jammu” organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, J&K Regional Branch, (,IIPA JKRB) a strong views emerged among the Traffic Police and participants representing a cross section of Jammu civil society that a better traffic management can be evolved with a holistic urban development supported by citizens.
The setting for a meaningful interaction towards an effective roadmap for traffic management in Jammu was laid by Dr. Mohd Haseeb Mughal, IPS DIG Traffic, Jammu, with his impressive keynote address based on analytical analysis of available relevant data.
Presided over by the Chairman IIPA JKRB and former Chief Secretary B R Sharma with Patron and former DGP, Dr Ashok Bhan as Chief Guest, it was attended by senior Traffic Police officers, former civil servants, academicians, members of civil society, President Chamber of Commerce & Industries, representatives from the Central Government Pensioners Association, Jammu, Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Jammu Chapter, representatives of Transport Unions, Central Govt Pensioners’ Welfare Association Jammu, Gandhinagar Resident Welfare Association.
A highly decorated police officer, Dr. Mughal, in his PPT, explained in detail about the present Traffic scenario including the challenges and initiatives taken to improve traffic management in Jammu. He said that in all situations, it has been the effort of the Traffic Police to prevent inconvenience to road users despite a much lesser number of Traffic personnel than required. Public convenience has been their objective and by and large it has succeeded in its mission.
Dr. Mughal also talked about the use of Technology by the Traffic Police in enforcement of traffic like e-challan by e-Gadgets and by ITMS cameras. Saying that the Traffic Police is committed to take the violators to task and have made over 6 lakh challan last year, he regretted that the Courts by and large did not stand by them and let the violators with little fine.
He also referred to the loss of precious human lives on the road accidents, most of which in hilly areas were due to technical faults. It has to be the collective efforts of all agencies and road users to prevent road accidents and save human lives. His lecture was followed by an interaction which continued for over an hour, touching almost all aspects of traffic management and urban planning.
Complimenting Dr Haseeb Mudgal for his outstanding data based analytical presentation on Traffic management in Jammu, B R Sharma said that Jammu, today, stands at a critical junction where urban growth has outpaced traffic planning, making traffic management a pressing governance challenge. He said that a city is not only a place to live but also a place to move. He said that cities grow, not only through buildings and infrastructure, but also through mobility and accessibility, adding that efficient movement of people and goods is the lifeline of urban economies. The data generated by the Traffic Department should guide policy decisions to improve traffic system in Jammu
Listing rapid increase in vehicular population in J&K as one of the factors that adds to the traffic congestion, he said that since 2017 vehicle population has almost doubled but road infrastructure did not expand proportionately. This brings us to the causes of traffic issues. These, he said, included inadequate urban planning, weak traffic infrastructure, lack of public transport, poor traffic discipline, encroachments and lesser parking slots in the city. He said that traffic management is fundamentally a public administration challenge requiring coordination among traffic police, urban local bodies, PWD SMART City organisation and Transport department with involvement of the public which is the biggest stakeholder in better traffic management.
Sharma cautioned against taking traffic management as a policing function but an essential component of urban governance, sustainable development and citizen well-being. The responsibility of improving traffic conditions in Jammu lies collectively with administrators, planners, policymakers and citizens alike.
In his address, Dr Ashok Bhan, said that traffic management is a complete science and technology must be used to make things on road better. He made a strong plea for use of AI for traffic control rather than prefixed time at traffic signals as sometimes it is seen that while the signal is red, the lane is empty. He suggested higher authorities to keep eye on performance of traffic cops deployed to control traffic are seen engrossed in cell phones, making some roads one-way traffic, discipling matadors, buses and a new fleet of 3-wheelers that are parked indiscriminately, freeing the lanes of parking of commercial vehicles in residential areas. He supported a harsh decision to deal with the rising vehicle population with shrinking width of roads and creation of more parking lots. He supported involvement of Traffic police in approving building plans by the JMC and other road engineering works.
Dr Bhan pleaded for more autonomy to Traffic police in creating systems that facilitate movement of traffic. It needs to create speed breakers, road- painting, maintenance of equipment and repairs of potholes on an urgent basis. The challan money should be kept at the disposal of challan money for their urgent works.
Dr Bhan said that length and width of roads can hardly be altered, so we should take small steps at times. And in this context the suggestions made today will go a long way to make road drives smoother and hassle free for users.
Earlier, Nisar Ahmed welcomed the guests and participants while Er. M. M. Gupta, Director (Seminars), presented a formal vote of thanks. Prof Anil Gupta, Joint Secretary conducted the proceedings
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