950818

20 killed

in Lahore

in 15 days

LAHORE: Massive corruption and the failure of city traffic police to enforce traffic laws on public transport have contributed to alarming increase in the road accidents with killing of 20 persons and injuries to 50 others during last 15 days.

According to the reported figures collected by APP, out of the 50 injured, 20 persons including three minor children and woman have been maimed as a result of fatal accidents in the provincial capital. Among the injured is also a traffic sergeant.

The survey revealed that most of the accidents occurred due to the reckless driven public transport vehicles which are playing havoc on the city roads with the open permission of city traffic police in return for millions of rupees being paid every month to the traffic police high-ups through traffic sergeants of every sector.

The owners of public transport vehicles on contacting boldly confessed that they are paying a big amount out of their transport income to the traffic police for which they are exempted from all kind of violations.

A traffic cop on duty admitted that the "monthly system" has curtailed the powers of traffic police to book the violators. He, on condition of anonimity, confided that all the illegal amount running in over 10 millions is obtained from public vehicle transporters every month, adding that all this amount goes in the pockets of high-ups of the traffic police.

The traffic constable deplored that "they don't receive any share out of this illegal amount as they are deputed only to terrorise those wagon drivers who indulged in delaying or denying the monthly (illegal gratification)."

The police sources said that a local traffic police officer of grade-18 is getting a "posh bungalow" constructed at Johar Town here with an estimated amont of Rs 8 million and is leading a very luxurious life, disclosing that officer of the said grade spends every week-end at an expensive hotel at Bhurbun.

However, the police sources said that "a number of other traffice police officers of low grade have become millionairs during their postings in the city as what to say a high-grade officer posted in Lahore over two and a half years.

Number of motorists on contacting expressed their grave resentment against the city traffic police which show least interest in regularizing the traffic flow.

The motorists and other road-users said that if the traffic police strictly enforce the traffic rules on the public transport vehicles and do not allow them to openly violate the traffic laws, the rate of accidents could be minimized to a great extent.

Regrettfully, they bluntly said, this cannot be possible unless the "monthly system" was abolished and the violators were dealt with according to law.-APP