In Feb over 1,10,000 vehicles challaned in Gurugram; 51,000 auto-rickshaws fined

Gururgam: In the month of February, Gururgam traffic police have levied fine on 1,11,613 vehicles. However, the figures were less than the previous month where 1,29,853 vehicles were issued challans. Once again the official data revealed that the traffic cops were extremely tough on auto drivers. While in the month of January a total of 67148 challans were issued against auto drivers, in February the figure was 51,781. Traffic violators in form of driving in the wrong lane and those parking the vehicles illegally were on the top list among those who were challaned by the law enforcement officials.

As many as 5,697 were challaned for driving in the wrong lane while fines were levied on 13398 people who had parked their vehicles wrongly. In other violations, there were 405 incidents of drunken driving, 3111 vehicles were towed away and 464 autos were towed. This figure was much higher than the figure in January where 1689 vehicles and 308 autos were towed

Normally the Gurgaon traffic police and area police challans around 3500 vehicles in the day but during special drives, the figures in the past have crossed to over 20,000 vehicles. The Gurugram police have conducted initiatives where a large amount of challan is made on erring drivers. Yet the rate of accidents in Gurugram continues to be high. Last year, there were over 442 people who lost their lives due to accidents on the city roads.

According to an official report, the majority of accidents happened after the vehicle was moving in the wrong direction. While the traffic police claim there has been a crackdown, repeated complaints of rash, drunken and underage driving have been reported. The grievances have also been shared that the police officials are not present in those locations where these kinds of violations are most visible. "I hope the strict approach taken by the traffic police is beneficial in instilling proper traffic sense among the residents. Sadly, the situation is not bright. Being stationed in prominent areas will result in police getting hold of a large number of people however the main culprits which are the trucks, autos and private buses get away, maybe because of their clout," said Amardeep Singh.

"As Gurugram is expanding very fast, it is not possible for our official to be in every corner. Yet, through these initiatives we want to ensure that commuting is safe in Gurugram," said a senior police official from Gurugram police. In 2017, the Gurugram traffic police collected Rs 11 crores through fines. This record was broken in the six months of 2018 itself with the law enforcement officials collecting Rs 15 crores from the period of January to August.