Srinagar: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta impressed upon the officers of civil and police administration to devise a better traffic management plan within a period of 15 days.
He asked them to carry out a scientific study of all the bottlenecks to come up with lasting solutions for all of them.
The Chief Secretary was speaking in a high level meeting held to deliberate over the traffic management in the UT of J&K.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Home; Principal Secretary, PWD; Commissioner Secretary, Transport Department; Transport Commissioner; IG Traffic; DIG Traffic, SSP Traffic Kashmir, SSP Traffic Jammu besides other concerned officers from police and civil administration.
Mehta emphasised upon the officers to ensure that there is no unauthorized parking on roads anywhere. He asked them to identify places for parking of vehicles at all the busy locations. He observed that popular market and tourist places having highest footfall are badly affected in terms of choking of roads so needs better enforcement of traffic rules.
The Chief Secretary urged the officers to erect barriers and diversions on roads after proper application of scientific knowledge. He maintained that civilized societies have better solutions for their problems and our management of traffic should reflect our civility.
He underscored the need of having short, mid and long term solutions for our traffic woes. He asked for strict implementation of using High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) on vehicles only for their effective monitoring. He enjoined upon the enforcement agencies to utilize their men and machinery efficiently to bring about a substantial improvement in coming days.
The Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Home stressed on the fact that the present situation calls for more stringent enforcement at all levels. He favoured for using modern tools and technology for manning the roads and ensuring smooth flow of traffic on them.
He also emphasized on optimum utilization of the available parking spaces for brining in the desired change on ground. He asked them to accelerate the process of affixation of HSRP across the UT so that all the vehicles have these within the given deadline.
The Principal Secretary, PWD also gave his suggestions regarding the better management of traffic in the UT. He asked for creating minimum barriers and simplifying the enforcement tactics. He made out that our efforts should be empowering instead of authoritative in nature.
The Commissioner Secretary, Transport informed the meeting that J&K has some 18.5 lakh vehicles out of which around 16.5 lakh have HSRPs affixed on them. He further revealed that all the vendors have the capacity to meet our requirements and the target can be met smoothly after renewed enforcement on ground.
The IG Traffic informed the meeting about various measures being taken in the UT for better management of traffic. He enumerated that e-challaning, installation of automatic traffic signals, use of interceptors coupled with other technical and technological interventions are going to bring in the necessary respite for commuters.
It was said that the procurement of high-end traffic management equipment like highway patrolling vehicles, interceptors, motorbikes, body cameras besides other paraphernalia shortly is going to change this aspect of traffic policing to a larger extent in the UT of J&K.
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