Traffic Chaos Persists in Hyderabad's South Zone Despite Penalties
Hyderabad: The varying proportions of penalties for traffic violations notwithstanding, it seems like such measures are not a deterrent as people continue to take traffic rules rather lightly, especially in the city’s south zone. Vehicles, parked illegally on footpaths, are causing severe inconvenience to pedestrians, who are compelled to walk on roads putting their lives at peril.
R. Venkateshwarlu, D.C.P traffic-3 (south zone) told Deccan Chronicle, “On any given day, we penalise many people for parking vehicles in front of shops right on the footpath. But this violation continues to remain. Our primary goal is to reduce traffic chaos. Moreover, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of vehicles plying on the roads. Regulating traffic has become a major challenge.”
Calling upon the people to cooperate, he said, "Although we do our best, the onus is on every individual. After all, traffic regulation is also a kind of social responsibility. Even if one person goes on a wrong route, the entire traffic flow will be disrupted. Our endeavour will be to reduce road fatalities. Meanwhile, compared to the last three years, accidents have decreased this year, which is a significant achievement of the traffic department." He said that though GHMC does not give permission to vendors, many poor people put up ‘shops’ on the footpath. Traffic police and GHMC officials regularly ask vendors to vacate and force them out but to no avail. “We aspire to control traffic and punish the violators”, he said.
Meanwhile, P. Upashankar, Mahankali police station house officer, said, “We tow around 20 vehicles, including two and four-wheelers, from no-parking zones on a daily basis. People of all age groups resort to this violation and come up with lame excuses when accosted. The haphazard parking makes it worse during peak hours, especially over the weekends. Rash driving is yet another problem we come across everywhere and every day. There is a dire need for instilling traffic sense in everyone.”
