It Can Happen to You too!

Indecent behavior of traffic police leads to public harassment

AR, Gangtok,January 6: With the increase of traffic and vehicles every day , the traffic police personnel have become a major and important section for maintaining the law and order these days. They are also looked up to , as people who are working tirelessly to ensure that people commute safely to and from their destination. With Sikkim becoming one of the best tourist destinations in the country, all service providers including the traffic police will have to buck up not just to do what is the needful but also to maintain decency that befits them.

Unfortunately in the Tashiling secretariat area conflict between the public and the traffic police has become a frequent event. 


The conflicts however are caused not so much because of any rash or harmful driving nor the denial of public to follow traffic rules but because of the very uncalled for behavior shown by the traffic personnel in charge of the area. In the morning of 6th January, the Editor of english daily Sikkim Mail was mistreated by one Mr. DK Basnett , traffic police in charge of the vehicle movement through the Tashiling Secretariat gate when he was not allowed to take his vehicle inside the gate, a daily route taken by the Editor every morning to drop his wife at her office in the Secretariat before returning as parking inside the premises of the Secretariat for private vehicles is not allowed. The manner in which the traffic police acted was very indecent. Mr. Basnett shouted and behaved with the Editor in a manner , as if he was dealing with a major breach of law, and the situation was even more embarrassing as the person being shouted at, did not know what his fault was. After a brief altercation, the Editor was also given a challan and the sections that were cited by the traffic personnel pertained to rash and dangerous driving and overspeeding, both being grossly untrue charges. In this regard it may be noted that the speed of the car was less than 30 kmph and the premises which is normally crowded at the morning hours so that there is no scope for over speeding or rash driving. If this is the plight of an Editor of an English newspaper, then it is clear what could be the fate of the Taxi drivers or the common people while commuting everyday at the hands of such personnel. The concerned authorities may take up the matter and brief the personnel in charge of traffic to first make the people understand what are the rules, as without knowing what is right and what is wrong the authorities also cannot expect the people to follow rules in totality. Hence it becomes very important in this regard that the notifications that are issued on matters that pertain to general public may be advertised before they are enforced to avoid such unwanted incidents. Further, it may be noted that the secretariat being a place frequented by the general public, the traffic police should know how to play his part. It is not that people do not follow rules but they need to be told in an appropriate manner. If there is a genuine violation of any rules, then there is no problems as the law would take its own course and whatever penal charges are levied would be settled. Government servants are expected to show utmost sincerity and integrity towards their duty, thus episodes like this are highly uncalled for and creates a very gloomy picture of the whole traffic fraternity in the minds of the people. It may not be out of place to point out here that it is not the fault of the system or the department but sheer lack of qualification and training , leading to some of the traffic personnel not knowing how to handle situations and ending up in embarrassing people in front of the public. The concerned department should first and foremost train the traffic personnel and make them capable to act with the public in a decent and appropriate manner but not like animals.