Triple riding on a two wheeler is not only a serious traffic violation, but a menace to other road users, especially pedestrians on narrow roads. But the city traffic policemen too, motorists have complained for long, do not adopt fool-proof methods to ensure enforcement of rules as the death of a teenager in K.K.Nagar last week pointed to. The traffic policeman in this case took a wild swing with his lathi to stop three young boys on the motorcycle – a common sight – seen by motorists on city roads.
The subsequent death of the teenager resulted in a surge of anger with people questioning the conventional methods of traffic policemen in enforcing rules. “Unlike the past when we had very little aid at our disposal, policemen today have IT-enabled gadgets ready in their hands and also inside their vehicles. They can capture visuals of youth indulging in triple riding, relay information immediately to the next police patrol team and even pull them up later,” said a retired Inspector from St. Thomas Mount Traffic Police (Investigation).
The police team need not always insist on a spot fine and that for serious violations, they can note down the violations and pull up offenders later by summoning them to regular or mobile courts later. By standing in the middle of the road in an attempt to pull up violators, traffic policemen not only posed a hazard to law abiding motorists, but were also exposing themselves to risks of being hit.
Snakes at home!
It is not just the people of the city who venture out to cooler climes during summer. The Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services’s (TNFRS) control room receives at least three calls a day from city residents who complain of snakes inside their homes.
According to Firemen, most calls are from Avadi, Koyambedu, J.J. Nagar and sometimes, even from Adyar. “The calls are mostly from places near waterways. The reptiles get trapped amidst debris and sand from construction sites in suburbs,” says a fire fighter.
Firemen on duty at the control rooms forward these calls to forest department or Blue Cross. “This is because not all our personnel are trained in handling snakes. But if the reptile enters the house, then we retrieve the snake and hand them over to Forest department,” he adds. Most personnel in TNFRS are given training at the Snake Park to distinguish venomous snakes from non-venomous ones. “Most of our calls are to handle cobras or rat snakes,” another officer says. The officers feel it would be better if they are given proper equipment to handle snakes. “Some of our men catch the reptiles with bare hands,” he explains.
(Reporting by K.Manikandan and Vivek Narayanan)
