Regulations on trial basis : Widening the focus
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 24, 2012 -

A low floor bus on its first trial run on Feb 21 - Pix :: TSE

Traffic congestion and the growing need to address this question is central to the decision of barring the entry of vehicles to the commercial centres of Thangal bazar, Paona bazar, BT road and MG Avenue.

Addressing the threat perception on their source of livelihood felt by the shop keepers of these said commercial centres is the appendage for the introduction of the low floor bus service in the said areas, on a trial basis from February 23.

The very term ‘on trial basis’ is enough indication that the novel move is experimental and hits and misses should be no cause for joy or dejection but should serve as the window to look forward to new ideas and suggestions.

For this to have any real meaning, it then follows that the key word here is a good understanding of the concept of addressing the traffic chaos witnessed on a daily basis on the roads of Imphal and to come anywhere near this, the focus should extend not only beyond the said three main commercial centres to the main roads but also to the lanes and by lanes of Imphal.

It makes no sense at all to decongest the three market centres and in the process add to the traffic chaos on the adjoining main roads, such as the NH-2 stretch along Kanglapat, Nagamapal, Waheng Leikai, Khoyathong, Keishampat etc.

Apart from the low floor bus service introduced on trial basis, the other steps taken up include providing parking lots along NH-2, to the east of Waheng Leikai, east of Nagamapal road etc.

All these are measures, no doubt taken up to address the growing traffic menace in the capital city, but the all important question is whether these measures have worked or even led to a slight improvement in traffic management ?

With the growing number of privately owned vehicles, especially in the post liberalisation period, the understanding of public transport too has undergone some radical shift.

It is and should no longer be seen as a mode of transport to ferry passengers who cannot afford their own private vehicles but also to more effectively deal with traffic congestion witnessed all over the world. Imphal cannot be an exception to this.

Public transport is an idea which has been mooted by the young officer presently in charge of implementing traffic rules and regulations in Imphal, but it also goes without saying that public transport comes with the understanding of roadways to support their movement.

What thought has the Government given to this aspect and this is where the observation on the lanes and by lanes becomes significant. As things stand today, the options open to many motorists are limited and the cutting off of routes, thanks to the incredulously long time it has taken for the Imphal Sewerage Project to complete, has only made things worse.

And so it stands that a motorist starting from, say Lilashing Khongnangkhong towards the DC office at Lamphel has no other option but to take the Khoyathong road, since the Watham Leirak road has been cut off for years, with no signs of completing. Same is the case with a good number of important road links in and around Lamphel area.

The point is, decongesting traffic rush in the commercial areas necessitates a broader outlook and the focus needs to shift to the roads and the lanes and by lanes of Imphal.

A trial is on and while brickbats and bouquets will follow, as is the case when anything radical is adopted, the implementing or enforcing agency, which is the Traffic Police in this case, need to question itself why all its earlier endeavours at regulating traffic flow in Imphal have failed.

Apart from the complete absence of application of the mind to the issue at hand, another important factor is the failure to enforce the regulations uniformly on everyone.

If rules and regulations are framed to distinguish those who come under the definition of the VIPs from the hoi-polloi then the first letter of its obituary may be taken to have been written. This was what happened to all the earlier traffic rules and regulations.