This is with reference to “ Make sure your vehicle has the right number plate….” published in the City Columns, HT dated March 5th 2003.
Come March, the last month of the financial year, it is common to see the Custodians of Law particularly from the “Traffic Police Department” in hyper mode. During this time, they are at their best issuing tickets [challans], which may at times even be for fictitious traffic violations. Amongst the other bests they are at during the rest of the year, include creating traffic chaos where one could be avoided or making life easier for Heavy Vehicles and Blue line operators, obviously for a little consideration. The list is unending and much too enormous to be accommodated in a mere three-column forum.
Whatever the reasons for this strange behavior, it seems, the Traffic Police “Think Tank” is thoroughly misinformed, confused and unclear about its functioning, goals and action plans it has, to make life easier for the Citizens. They are unfortunately as ambiguous on their pursuits today as they had been decades ago. In continuation to the once upon a time drive of blackening a part of the headlights, the latest in the list, is their stint on the registration number plates on vehicles, starting with the “Black on white” drive, followed by the size of letters [not the number of lines in which they were to be written] drive. And now on how many lines the numbers on the plate at the back of your vehicle should be written, not to mention about the High security, High Cost Number plates, meant to be fixed on easily removable and damageable bumpers.
It seems, installments of bright ideas, short sighted, feasible or not, with a pinch of ambiguity is the “way to go’ with the Traffic Authorities. Can the Authorities explain how one is to write such a plate as per their latest directive, within the space provided on the rear bumper of a new model of the people’s car, Maruti 800 or Zen? What ever may be the solution, the most important thing to learn from these drives is the art of earning fast buck. If any one is to gain and get richer by such drives, it is only the Traffic Department, and the Tommy who has a motor accessories shop down the street.
Enough is enough, and its time for the Authorities to pull their socks and get organized. No one has any right to experiment with arbitrary ideas and decisions, at the cost and inconvenience of Citizens.
Is The Traffic Police Commissioner reading please??