the goan I network
MARGAO
Tempers ran high at the Margao traffic cell on Wednesday evening as the traffic challan books got exhausted, leaving hundreds of motorists, who had stood in a serpentine queue for hours, fuming.
Many of the citizens, who had come to pay the fines after they were issued challans under the traffic sentinel scheme, demanded that Director General of police, Muktesh Chander, who had introduced the traffic sentinel scheme, empower the sentinels to accept the fines as well. The citizens also sought to blame the government for the inconveniences and hardships faced by them after they were challaned by the traffic sentinels.
The situation threatened to go out of control after the challan books got exhausted, leaving hundreds of traffic violators, who had turned up to pay the fines, agitated. Some of them contended that the police department should streamline the system of payment of challans raised by the traffic sentinels, saying that the traffic cell is ill-equipped to clear the hundreds of
people who turn up to pay the fines.
“We cannot waste our time by standing in a queue for half a day or a full day. Instead of asking the traffic violators to come to the department to pay the fines by standing in a serpentine queue, the traffic department should empower the traffic sentinels to collect the fines,” remarked a citizen of Raia, Judas Quadros.
A couple of women motorists pointed out that some of them have received as many as five challans even as they demanded to know whether they can be booked for the same offence twice or thrice.
Outside the police headquarters, the citizens directed their ire at the traffic sentinels, pointing out that traffic sentinels are only out to make money as some of them have installed cameras at their business establishments to capture motorists riding without the helmets.
“Let the DGP and the traffic department identify the accident spots in the city and along the highway and earmark these areas to the traffic sentinels to rein in on the violators. The traffic sentinels should not see this scheme as a money making scheme. After all, their payments are made out of the taxpayers money,” remarked a citizen outside the police building.
