Traffic nightmare

The economic implications are grave as precious man hours are lost on the road.

According to the traffic department statistics, 67 new vehicles are added on an average to the existing fleet every day. There are 20 rail crossings in the city, which slow down the pace of movement. Finally, lack of coordination among the government agencies leads to almost round-the-year digging and re-digging of roads by the utility service providers which tend to obstruct traffic. People have cried hoarse straining their vocal chord on these but to little avail.

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The traffic authorities are clamping down on unlicensed rickshaws and old motorised vehicles. Things appear to be moving on the right track. But predictably they will run out of steam once the traffic week ends.

What is needed is a sound, doable action plan. Not all the problems can be solved overnight as vast structural improvement is needed in certain cases. But it is not clear why the traffic department cannot keep the old and dilapidated vehicles off the roads? Somehow regulatory measures announced with great fanfare are compromised or abandoned half way through. This is an issue that calls for government's immediate attention.