The police have begun acting tough on one-way rule violators who have been challenging safety norms with no respect for the rights of pedestrians and other motorists.
On the directive of Deputy Commissioner of Police A. Sreenivas, checking has been intensified in all the seven traffic sectors in Kozhikode city with focus on tracking late-evening and late-night violations.
Dr. Sreenivas said the special drive initiated by the police three days ago subsequent to media reports had exposed 242 cases so far. The First Information Report (FIR) was registered in two major cases as part of the ongoing drive, he added.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) A.J. Johnson said the drive was led by senior police officers. “As part of the spot intervention plan, we have also deputed a night officer who will be taking care of late-night road enforcement activities,” he told The Hindu.
Residents’ associations, citizens’ forums, and ex-servicemen’s fraternity in the city have welcomed the move with a call to put in place a permanent checking mechanism other than occasional drives to track late-night traffic violations. They also said the intervention of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission on the issue was laudable.
Radhakrishnan Nair, an ex-serviceman in the city, said the rampant violations mainly endangered the safety of pedestrians. In the absence of appropriate action, many drivers are seemingly ignorant of their responsibility to follow rules, he said.
