Drive against violators and Govt’s responsibility

The ongoing drive against the traffic norm violations is in full swing across Jammu and Kashmir with major focus on Srinagar, the summer capital of the Union Territory, which has yielded a positive change on the ground. As per the media reports, the Traffic Police department has seized more than three thousand vehicles, comprising both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, over the last nine days in Srinagar alone. The traffic crackdown, which began after the tragic Tengpora accident on November 14, claimed the lives of two young boys, with another critically injured, after a collision between two vehicles. The incident sparked widespread outrage and led to a renewed focus on underage driving and reckless driving practices in the region. However, with no letup in the drive against the violators, the people could be seen adhering to the traffic rules in letter and spirit with majority of the parents avoiding their children to ride the vehicles including two-wheelers and four-wheelers, which is a quite positive sign of civic sense. Such a drive if continued will end up in no traffic rule violations and simultaneously can reduce the fatality rate in the road traffic accidents. However, as the drive continues, the government, especially the concerned Regional Transport Offices, should pace up the progress of issuing the license to the deserving drivers after qualifying the mandatory test. It is imperative to take action against the traffic rule violators, but at the same time, it puts a huge responsibility on the government to pace up the license work and ensure the deserving get a valid license to drive the vehicles.