Raipur Traffic Police on Saturday was in upbeat mood for taking to the task the errant drivers and conductors of private buses – plying to and from capital – for not adhering to State Government’s directive to wear and maintain the prescribed ‘dress code’ while carrying out their professional duties. Traffic cops identified multiple interception points between Telibandha to Cherikhedi, which connects capital Raipur with Mahasamund and Bilaspur districts via Ring Road-3 on far-stretching National Highway-53. The crackdown was necessitated after multiple complaints were received by senior officials of Raipur Police that the drivers and conductors of private passenger buses continue to flout the laid down norms under Chhattisgarh Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) 1994, in the absence of action and they always run away with impunity. Henceforth, multiple teams of Telibandha Traffic Police, under the direct supervision of Deputy Inspector General (DIG and Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Prashant Agrawal, were asked to launch a major crackdown on these violators.

 

Under this, traffic cops on Saturday conducted nearly six hour dedicated drive, at two different intervals – from morning 10 am to 12.15 pm and then 1.50 pm to 5.30 pm – to intercept all such private buses along with their errant drivers and conductors, who were issued Compound Slip Fine, at designated interception points, at Cherikhedi Bridge and Ring Road3 Turning, near Raju Dhaba, on NH-53. “The crackdown that spanned for nearly 6 hours, alone saw the interception of as many as 124 buses and hefty penal action of nearly Rs 75,000 against their drivers and conductors,” Telibandha Traffic In-Charge Pramod Singh told ‘The Hitavada’. Singh further informed that Section 200 of Motor Vehicle Act empowers Traffic Police to take action against the violators, wherein the drive conducted on Saturday recorded penal action against the drivers and conductors under Section 9/177 and 36/177 of CMVR respectively. “Often the dress code violation by the drivers and conductors make the passengers suffer a lot and also make them vulnerable to criminals.

 

For, it becomes difficult for any passenger to spot out the conductor sans uniform and badge, for any grievances pertaining with seat allotment and luggage placement inside a heavily-crowded bus. Sometimes, it has also come to the notice of police investigators that theft and missing of passengers’ luggage containing valuables, is also due to colluding of conductors with criminals being accommodated on a moving bus,” he added. According to Singh, Rule 36 and 37 of CMVR clearly states for drivers and conductors to wear clean uniforms along with display of their respective names on the badge. However, most of the drivers and conductors take these rules for granted and thereby manage to get away with impunity. The Telibandha traffic team police team members, who carried out the special drive also comprised of Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASIs) H P Sahu, D S Singh, Udal Sahu, Head Constable Lambodar Sahu, Constables Ajay Dhruv, Sanjay Netam, Anil Kumbaj, Gaje Markam and Vinay Singh.