This time the Highway Police need to be frowned upon, booed and blamed for everything (except the landslides of course) that aggravated the Pune-Mumbai traffic choke-up, last week. Despite having sophisticated wireless system and walkie-talkies, the Highway Police helplessly, listlessly and lethargically watched the Pune-Mumbai Highway bottleneck increasing till it stretched up to 90 kms which lasted for 55 hours! (Were they trying to create a record or what? Which they did, because this traffic jam is being talked about as the biggest one in this century, this side of the world.)For them, a traffic jam on the highway may be a ``routine affair' - not much to worry about except may be send a couple of additional traffic constables, who can blow whistles at their will. The public may be damned, if they get trapped. What else can one conclude, when the landslides at Bor Ghat had occurred at around 7 p.m. on July 14, but the wireless message, that too from the Khadki Traffic Aid Post (TAP) and not from Khandala or Lonavla, reached the deputy superintendent of police, A.H.Shaikh on the next morning, that is at 9.30 a.m. on July 15! Isn't this the height of inefficiency and damn-care attitude?With the Pune-Mumbai trunk route, being the busiest in the country, how many vehicles would be already passing to and fro Pune, in a good 14 hours (from 7 p.m. to 9.30 a.m. the next day) is anybody's guess. Okay, even after these precious hours that ticked passed, trapping hundreds of commuters already, the Highway Police is cool. All it does is call up the territorial police, in turn, and ask them to take further course of action. The Highway Police rung up various police stations requesting them to put up a board, to warn the public. Besides, receiving a cold response for this (only the Dehu Road police station put it up), it was too late, anyways.What the highway police need to be congratulated about is the phone calls that they made to the ST stands and private bus and lorry operators, on the morning of July 15 onwards, who immediately grounded all their vehicles in Pune itself. Otherwise, the already serpentine queue from Dehu Road to almost Panvel, would have been one and a half times more in the least. Also, they made use of the pager companies, which reached out the message to individuals, not to stir out on that road.Maybe, we should look at this feeble attempt, with a positive attitude. Immediately now, we suggest that the Highway Police gear up for action, on a war footing, when any traffic bottleneck arises on highways. The key note, being communication, at a lightening speed, and at initial stages, when the situation is firmly under their grip. Hey, we are not experts. But as you know, many a time, common sense comes from a common man. So, why not provide a tip or two, in that capacity. Needless to say, their wireless system must get 100 per cent efficient and news to the highway police headquarters/offices should reach within minutes of a traffic snarl.Whenever there are disruptions in railway traffic due to rains or accidents, the television and the radio, carry regular announcements for the same. It is imperative that the Highway Police understands that highway jams also affect thousands of people, just like the railway track disruptions. Therefore, the effective use of the mass media is the need of the hour. Why not send SOS messages over the television, radio and even newspapers, urging individuals and transport organisations not to come on the particular highway and add to the choke-up? And also use, like they did, the pager facilities. How effective this would be, in highway management of the affected road!More importantly, the highway police must, at once, halt traffic from different segments, several kilometres away from the traffic jam area. This would ensure that a serpentine queue does not develop, in the first place, putting thousands of innocent lives at the mercy of fate. The Highway Police should at that point itself, suggest alternate routes, or encourage the vehicle drivers to return to pavilion. It should also declare these alternate routes through the mass media.Of course, our country is full of smart individuals who care a damn for the authority just as the authorities give two hoots for individuals. Announcements would be perhaps taken with a not a pinch but a pound of salt and it won't be surprising if private vehicle owners still head for the road. At least then the Highway Police can reign supreme. With lesser vehicles to handle, they can become very strict with small vehicle drivers who recklessly overtake and cross lanes, during traffic snarls, which leads to further choke-ups. The Highway Police should take stern measures and heavily penalise such drivers. They would then have learnt their lesson well.Therefore, without any argument, the first step of a comprehensive approach to traffic snarl management has to come from the Highway Police itself and if this happens, it could well be a significant milestone, on our journey to the 21st century.
