Spare a few thoughts on traffic congestion also
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: September 28 2011 -

Of the many irritating problems the people of Manipur especially the urban dwellers encounter on a daily basis is the traffic snarls in and around the city limits. Traffic jams which a few years back were a rarity is almost a daily occurrence now particularly during rush hour.

The traffic snarls which was once limited to areas like Kwairamband Bazar, Paona Bazar, Thangal Bazar, Wahengbam Leikai, Keisampat, Nagamapal is spreading its tentacles to adjoining areas like the Kanglapark stretch, the Secrtariat road, New Checkon area, BOAC till Chingmeirong, the RIMS road, Uripok Kangchup road, Sagolband, Thangmeiband road etc.

Which means wherever you go in an around the city area, you are bound to spend precise time negotiating heavy, chaotic traffic, breathe in the polluted air from the vehicles as well as from the dust emanating from pothole rich roads, expose your ear to the vehicle noise and the constant honking. It is a veritable jungle out there.

Many factors have led to this sorry state of affairs. The first of course is the massive increase in the number of vehicles which has flooded the roads of the state. As per records, there are some 2 lakh vehicles officially registered in Manipur, and who knows how many more are there which are not registered or which have fake registrations.

And there is no sign of any let up in the number of vehicles descending down the Manipur roads. In fact it is increasing now at a greater pace, it is said that on an average 30-40 applications for registration are received on every working day.

Those at the helm of affairs of the state, most of whom had very little time to waste planning for a future, just did not visualize this sort of spurt in traffic and obviously never planned for such an eventuality. It is clear as daylight that there aren't just enough roads to accommodate the rapidly increasing traffic.

Now at least after having experienced the consequences of lack of vision, inability to foresee possible scenario in case of a policy change (liberalization, for instance) and the inability to react to a changed situation in time, our present government and the immediate future governments should plan for the next 50 years at least to solve the problem of traffic congestion or else the future generation will be swamped by it.

The Manipur Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Act 2011 provides for enhanced one time tax on the purchase of new vehicles which over and above increasing government revenue is meant to act as a disincentive for buying new vehicles. But in a pace like Manipur, where pomp and show is also a inalienable part of our society, how far this will be effective is open to question.

Even after people have bought their cars and scooters, incentives should be provided to dissuade them from taking them out on the streets by putting in place an effective, efficient public transport system. The vehicle owner themselves should find travel on these pubic transport more attractive rather than taking out their own vehicle in terms of time and money saved.

But what we have here in the name of public transport are mostly jeeps, mini buses and auto rickshaws which defeats the very purpose of limiting the number of vehicles on the road.

The government has been planning to introduce low floored buses in the streets of Imphal but the question is when is that plan going to materialize. Along with this, more roads need to be constructed and the traffic movement need to be streamlined.

One can see significant improvement in the traffic movement in Thangal Bazar, Paona Bazar and the BT Road. The traffic police deserve to be commended for it but one only hopes this phase does not peter out after sometime.

This success needs to be replicated in other areas and most importantly its personnel need to be a lot more sincere and serious in dealing with traffic violations.

Because even though many other agencies play important roles, directly or indirectly, in controlling the traffic congestions, the traffic police is the most visible face.