Editorial
Highway police in name only
Mounting insecurity on inter-district roads
OUR highway networks, substantial as these are, have regrettably become not just accident-prone but also scenes of crime of different types, more perhaps at night than at day time. Ranging from traffic violations of overloading, speeding, overtaking and scuffles over fares through accidents and post-accident violence including clashes between transport operators and police, students and police and factory workers and police, nearly every kind of untoward incident happens on arterial network. The list of troubles is only growing with highway robbery, snatching, cheating by application of deadly potion, carriage of contrabands including purveying of small arms.
The high incidence of accidents, violence and crime on the highways is attributable to virtually dysfunctional highway police squad. Even though we were late in forming a highway police unit as a country: only three years ago we did so, what is still more regrettable is that it remains heavily hemmed in by constraints even to this day. It's a sorry state of affairs with a priority agenda that is inextricably linked to the broader issue of crime control.
Like all good ideas this was started with fanfare and now it is whimpering. In the absence of its distinct and defined status, delegation of financial authority, organogram and rules and regulations, it's an entity long on hopes but short on achievements -- thanks to the lack of coordination between and indifference of establishment and home ministries. It is dependent on district police authorities for money to fuel and repair its transports. The height of its marginalisation can be gauged from the fact that high performance Nissan Patrol jeeps which were provided to the force had been taken away by the top police officials. It was supposed to have 24 highway police stations and 48 police outposts under a single command. But on the ground there are apologies of stations and outposts, let alone full complement of accommodation facilities, equipment, gadgets and transports.
We urge the government to look into their problems and put in place effective policing on the highways.
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