By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr 1: Chief minister Pramod Sawant in his budget speech on Wednesday said that ‘remote enforcement will be put in place through a sophisticated, integrated traffic management system, which will provide live real-time data to capture violations’.

This is a welcome step, but what about Ministers, bureaucrats and police personnel who break the law. How many times has a politician stopped at a traffic signal and has followed traffic regulations? How many children of ministers have a license to drive because of the influence of their father rather than on their own merit. When a politician breaks the law it is because he is on ‘official work’. Every citizen has ‘official work’. If not the bank will close, or the government office will never open, or the fish will run off the market.

All these laws are made in a vacuum. They are not practical. Some bureaucrat is ‘ordered’ to amend the law and he follows orders. He too comes on a bike or a car and has to be in his seat on time. He knows the practicality of the amendment but behaves like an ostrich.

Let us get real about the situation. Goa, like other cities is a bike city. If you do not have your own transportation, you are doomed. The government should push for a better transport system. More CNG buses are required immediately. Dismantle the private bus lobby. Clean up the bus terminals. All without exception are filthy and unruly. The private operators drive at break neck speeds, pack the bus like sardines, have loud jarring honks, and are rude with passengers.

Will the fear of larger fines deter those who want to violate the law? The simplistic answer is ‘No’. Each Goan thinks he is a law unto himself. He will twist and turn the rules to his advantage, even offering the police a bribe. All he needs to do is raise a hand and greet the cop with ‘Patrao’. If he is ever caught, violating the law a thousand references and phone calls are given or made. This is the practice all over the country. The department does put out a statistics sheet for the month of the number of fatalities but is considered as routine by the media. It is just another statistic for the record books.

The law is being amended after two decades. In all these years we have become ‘habitual’ bribe givers to a force who only wait for the same and will negotiate a deal. The amendment of the Motor Vehicles Act cannot stop the practice of bribe taking? How will the unaccounted money find its way to the minister, who has set a ‘target’ for the month?

What about the roads in Goa? Many of them are single carriages. The on-coming traffic has to give way to the traffic headed in the opposite direction. Nuvem is a great example of this obstacle. Or the road that connects Moira to Mapusa market which has to cut across the highway. Are our roads pedestrian friendly? Do we have a system of pedestrian rules or is jay walking a fundamental right.

The bikes speed recklessly, ride triple seat and refuse to wear a helmet. While in cars, the driver and co-driver refuse to wear a seat belt, repair tail lights and headlights. They drive blind. Lorries and dumpers being used in the various ‘developmental’ works do not have headlights, taillights, registration numbers are covered with earth or are defaced, drivers are drunk, no personnel licenses, a dipper is never used. The cop is waiting for his share of the booty.

While the intent is honourable, the implementation is doubtful. The Goa police are known to hound vehicles from ‘outside’ the state. Isn’t Goa a tourist destination? They way they scan the occupants, check papers of ‘outside’ vehicles is pathetic. Language is a big barrier. Do people not get transferred and are they not allowed to carry their vehicles. Or is the amendment which comes into force today only interested in collecting penalties’ which will improve the revenue of the government of Goa. The department has already achieved self congratulatory messages. But today is only April 1st. APRIL FOOLS DAY.