Jammu stuck in traffic snarls

The traffic situation in the City of Temples continues to worsen day by day. Despite every effort by the Traffic Department to stremline it, there seems no respite from frequent traffic snarls, road skirmishes to the Jammuites.With the High Court tightening its noose over the local authorities for regulation and control of traffic in the wake of irksome traffic jams and increasing rate of road accidents the local administration is all geared up to take corrective measures. 

The Supreme Court has clearly stated that proper management and control of traffic is a matter of public safety and is a fundamental right for the purpose of Article 21 of the Constitution. The state High Court had issued directives to the State Government and local authorities earlier in 2006 for traffic management and pollution control in Jammu city.So many interwoven factors have contributed to the increasing chaos over the years.

Governments pursued neo-liberal reforms that not only increased the buying capacity of the middle class but also expended the markets to splurge. Automobiles being the most desirable commodity and a sign of prosperity among the middle class have seen a constant surge.

Jammu adds more than 20,000 new vehicle on its roads every year. The demand is even more and varied. Easy loans, cheaper models, dirty money have made it easier without giving a second thought."Dil Mangey More, This is my life" are the imbedded slogans of modern life.

Jammu city is a curious mix of old, new and the not so new. The old is thickly populated and alleys are narrow. Encroachment of public places, roads, side walks is very common. Inadequate parking adds to the chaos. Urban development has not kept pace with the surging automobiles.

Legal hassles like land acquisition have stalled the proposed construction of new flyovers, over bridges, links, parkings.Town planning and infrastructure for present and the future would be a key challenge for the governments keeping economic realities in mind. General public holds mini buses responsible for frequent jams and commuters are irritated with the drivers. "There are no fixed stops so our drivers have to board and alight passengers wherever they are asked to," says Jatinder Khajuria Provincial General Secretary, Minibus Worker Union. What used to be our stops are now a free parking, he adds. . Corruption in the motor vehicle department and the traffic police is an open secret. A mini bus owner pays Rs.100 a month as entry on every traffic point depending upon their number on a given route. "If we all pay collectively on a route, we also get a rebate from them. Two or three of us can ply for free in rotation, says Roshan Singh a minibus driver. . It relaxes them to play audio, overload passengers and other things like fitness of the vehicle. Danesh Rana, the D.I.G of police (Traffic), however, said corruption of this kind is collusive and both sides are equally culpable for this fix. "We have taken the most stringent action possible against the corrupt cops recently and won't spare any if such incident is brought to over notice by anybody. Keep your documents fit, obey rules and report us if anybody demands a bribe," he asserted.

Traffic police lacks modernization when it comes to checking violations. Alcosensors (Breath Analyzers), speed radars, lux meters digital still cameras, basic software for identifying habitual offenders are still nowhere in the proposed improvement. Traffic records have been computerized recently yet. Rate of issuing challans is very low as compared to wholesale violations. Intercepting eluding offenders is risky for both. Its like playing "Cops and robbers" in the absence of technology. A constable in the traffic police works for upto 14 hours on most days without an overtime for addition hours. The condition of traffic booths is pathetic.

"It's not possible to catch and punish every violator mostly who are young in the absence of stringent motor vehicle laws. They need to be amended so that the quantum of fines has a deterring effect," explained Rana. He assured that the police are going to install a GPS device in every registered motor vehicle to track its position with the help of satellite. Installation of traffic signals and signs has been entrusted to the JMC and hopefully it would be complete by the end of March, he added. "The Motor Vehicle Department has blocked the issuance of new permits to avoid congestion. Permits are issued only to favoured persons and there is a wide discrepancy between the fares and the increased cost of living" says a source in the Motor Vehicle Department Given the number of increasing automobiles the Motor Vehicle Department of the state works with less than 200 employees (Officers included) and generates a revenue of approximately 70 Crores a year. Ironically it has to live on the modernization doles from the Centre for basics like computerization.

Lack of administrative reforms and Transfer Raj is a serious impediment in the smooth functioning of authorities. Officers in the traffic police and the RTO admit the serious lack of coordination. Section 213 of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 gives ample power to Motor Vehicle officers to carry out functions of the traffic police and are therefore answerable to a single head. Earlier in most of the states there was a fundamental budgetary bias: transport was treated as a non-planned expenditure head or implicitly an expenditure that did not result in any tangible benefits for the state.

It becomes imperative for State Governments to formulate an effective transport policy keeping in mind the realities of the last few decades. Cosmetics do not work long. A perfect hormonal balance is must to look graceful, and of course to stay young.

Dharpur in Sunderbani

The Village is situated at a hill top of Barnara, 15 kms away from Tehsil headquarter Sunderbani. The village is covered with dense forest and wild animals like leopard, apes, peacocks, ostriches, snakes etc. The village has historical and social importance as it was a place visited by deities (Devi and Devatas) of Chelda Bradri. After every six months, a Mela congregation is organized in the village and about 15000-20000 people participate in it.

A beautiful temple of Bua Datti known for its faith & rituals is also located in the area which gives the pleasant view of low lying areas abounding with natural waterfalls.

The village is on the hilltop and many low lying areas and villages like Bahmbla, Nahoti, etc are visible from here. It has a natural catchment and feasibility for Tourism. Having serene surroundings, huts can be constructed on hill to add to the beauty of village.

Reach: The place is merely 10-12 kms away from Tehsil. Sunderbani. The main drawback of the non-development of such hilly places is that Government only approves schemes/ projects in such areas but the corrupt employees and contractors befool the people and make its limitation only in papers. 

Habitation: There are a total numbers of 13 families in the village. There are no basic facilities of education, health, water sanitation and road connectivity to this village. The children also face problems to reach their schools. Also, a dozen of the families belonging to nomadic tribes have been totally deprived of their basic privileges for their survival.

School: There is only one school located at a distance of 3½ kilometers from the hilltop to the downwards in Barnara. The students have to descend this hilly and tough terrain to reach the school. 

Atta Chakki: There is no Atta Chakki in the village. The habitants have to get grinded the maize/wheat grains and have to walk a distance of 3½ kms downwards in this hilly area. The pathway is such a slant and kachha that nobody can go ahead a single step even empty handed. They face trouble to fulfill their day to day needs. 

Water :Presently village is having a few natural resources of water and the same is being supplied to Langar, Nohti, Baranara areas. The water tank constructed by P.H.E. Department in the last decade is in wretched condition and still not functional. Also there is no maintenance of the natural resources. These natural springs are on verge of dryness. In summer, the habitants are fully dependent on these natural resources but due to lack of regular maintenance of these resources crisis can be foreseen in the area. Proper maintenance of these resources is urgently needed lest the habitants of the village face water scarcity problem.

Electricity: The village is having electricity facility but there is no regular maintenance of its utility. In case of sudden curtailment or any fault no employee bothers to visit the area to redress the grievances of people and restore the same well in time.

Road Connectivity: The village is located about 1.5 kilometers away from link road (Bambla-Nahoti) and people have to cover this distance on foot through dense forest. Although a project is already under process by P.W.D. for construction of the road but no action has been initiated so far. As the roads are being considered most urgent part of development of any area, the people living here are facing problems due to the non availability of the road and deprivation of their mobility and basic amenities.

Health Centre: The village is having no medical centre. The nearest health centre is about 5 kms from the village. For vaccination of children, the women have to cover this distance on foot. No vaccination camp has ever been organized by Health department in the locality. 

Aaganwari Centre: There are kids in the village and it is difficult for parents to send them through the dense forest for schooling. In this case there becomes a feasibility of Aganwari Centre in the village. The availability of Centre will help these kids for getting the nutrition and education in the school. 

Agriculture: There is a stretch of approx 400 kanals of agricultural land in the village but due to non-availability of road connectivity just 25% to 30% area is cultivated and low yield of food grains is obtained which is not sufficient to meet the daily requirements of area. Out of this land 35% is fertile land to be used for agricultural purpose. The major crops cultivated are maize, wheat, mustard, pulses etc. The people use to plough in the fields using bulls as there is no road and thus having no facility of tractors. 

Horticulture: The climatic condition of the area is favourable for growing fruit trees like mango, Apricot, lemon, apple, Guava, Orange etc. This will increase the income sources of the people but this section is totally neglected. If the area is extended with the facility through Horticulture department and come up with some new schemes it is sure that there would be upliftment in living standard and boosting in economical conditions. 

Medicinal Plants: The Place is full of Medicinal plants like Amla, Harida, Khar, Aloe Vera etc.

In present era, everything is possible but there is only lack of initiative, priorities and a strong will to proceed with multi projects which are an essential ingredient to boost the development process and benefits of the schemes to the common rural folk without any discrimination and deprivation of their basic and fundamental rights. India in real sense can feel pride when the development reaches to a poor man living in the remote corners of the country. I am sure, with zeal and zest, everything is possible for the development of rural areas of country.

But it is unfortunate that the people of this village are living a life which deprives them of the basic facilities like water, electricity, health care facilities, education, road connectivity and other utility etc. 

In the era of 21st century when Man is going to construct structures on Moon and everything has become possible due to advent of computers, the habitants of this village are not having a school, a healthcare centre or any other government facility.

Despite having these problems, people have not been included under SRO 294 and are being considered as "forward". Thus they are denied their basic rights of reservation for backward classes under this SRO which could have been easily extended to the natives of this small village.