Traffic Police in Danger

Ironically, the failure to act against polluting vehicles has started telling on the traffic department itself with 30 per cent of its personnel laid low with jaundice, allergic reaction, and renal, cardiac and respiratory complications. Two officials have already died, one of cardiac arrest, while on duty. The situation speaks of sustained dereliction of duty as regards enforcement of pollution control measures; and it forebodes not only an imminent environmental disaster but also a total collapse of the regulatory system. Intriguingly and, needless to say, unfortunately, even at this crucial juncture, the approach sounded perfunctory. Instead of taking definitive steps to minimise air pollution, the authorities distributed air-filter masks among on-duty traffic personnel, some 1,000 of them. Constant exposure to polluted air naturally has rendered the filters dysfunctional and in need to be replaced. What beats our sensibility is their failure to fathom the gravity of the situation. How can they be so myopic while mapping a redressal plan that goes nowhere near striking at the root of the problem?

When the government imposed a ban on import of leaded petroleum and outlined a plan to phase out two-stroke scooters, we welcomed the decisions with a reservation; for the latter was loose-ended with a five-year time-frame. However, as usual, the implementation got off to stuttering start. Revival of the country's lone refinery still remains a far cry while import of leaded petroleum has not stopped. The rise in number of two-stroke scooters has not been arrested while faulty vehicles ply the city streets with impunity. Enforcement lethargy has now started taking its toll after the traffic regulators' temporary exit.

Basically, therefore, the authorities must first realise that the course they have taken is bound for further disaster. Stringent pollution abatement measures can be the only way out of the mire. An implementational hazard such as the partial strike of autorickshaw drivers should not distract them from achieving the greater goal of ensuring safe city air, for the dwellers and for themselves.