Reflecting the character of a city : Demolish 'flag post' phobia
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 18, 2012 -

The numerous arrangements, plans, rules and regulations and what not that have been tried out to deal with the growing traffic volume in the commercial centres of Imphal, especially at Thangal bazar, Paona bazar, BT Road etc have now become legions.

The latest 'only pedestrian zones' at the said commercial centres is one such attempt taken up and while the idea is appealing, it needs to be studied why the earlier regulations such as no parking inside these centres flopped miserably.

In all these cases of failure, the blame has always fallen on the public and while it is true that the public of Manipur score terribly low on civic sense, we need to go beyond this.

Awareness drive, educating the mass, sensitisation programmes, publicity drive through all the medium available etc should be resorted to while taking up any new initiatives and we at The Sangai Express would be more than willing to not only open our doors but also to extend our hands outside the open doors to pass on the relevant information to the public.

Rules and regulations come under the presupposition that all should obey them, which means they are applicable to all.

Given this universal understanding, then the blame on the public may as well be turned on its head and we may as well say that it is the Babudom, the police, the white collared officers, the political netas and their chamchas, the Army, the Central Para-Military forces, such as the Assam Rifles, the CRPF and the BSF who need to be educated first.

And traffic regulation is not a joke. It is a part of city planning, demanding the involvement of different agencies of the Government and cannot be divested of the overall character of the place or city.

How the traffic of a city runs and moves go a long way in defining its character and in most cases it is central to the description of the people and the way it is governed. Hence it follows that the new traffic regulations need to be seen in its correct perspectives.

Other than strict implementation of the rules and regulations, the other sure shot formula to make rules and regulations successful is to demonstrate that nonsense would not be tolerated !

Since it is the traffic cops who should be doing the implementation part of the work, empower them. Neutralise the 'flag post' phobia from their mindset.

For this to happen, the officers responsible should set the example. We strongly advocate this. Why not let a Minister or the Chief Secretary or the DGP walk on the only pedestrian zones and let everyone know that they too are following the rules and regulations ?

Not for effect, but to set examples. The leaders and the officers need to be role models. When rules and regulations are seen or made to be seen that they are applicable only to the hoi-pollois then the first nail of failure has been driven in.

As we had said in this column more than once earlier, rules should not be reduced to the status of an Apartheid, where they are applicable only to the general public but not on the suited, booted class. This mentality should be flushed down the toilet, like a used paper napkin !

Having said this, easing the flow of traffic should be the responsibility of all. No one should be exempted. The public need to be taught, reminded and drilled into their heads that the city belongs to them. It is their asset. The different agencies of the Government too need to work in a co-ordinated manner.

So far it has been more of a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. This can be seen everywhere. Clearly the Traffic police have a job at hand, but we can all contribute to make the job easier, if all of us realise our status as citizens of this land.

And of course the primary point should be about the equal application of the rules and regulations to all.

Maybe it is time to brief the top brass of the Army, Assam Rifles, BSF and CRPF that the new rules and regulations too apply to them. Educate their officers on this, is our suggestion and why not ?