How bribe, greed play havoc with citizens' lives

Despite ban on access of heavy and medium business/passenger vehicles within the city limits between 7 am and 11 pm, thousands of trucks can be seen plying on city roads during the day. Not only do those vehicles devour up house on roads and motive congestion, they upload to already deteriorating air high quality. Truck homeowners and drivers say they pay bribe in masses and thousands to law enforcement officials, relying on whether or not the truck is empty or sporting consignment, to go into town.

Take the case of roads in the back of the Nirma University that give access into town from SG Highway and SP Ringroad. Hundreds of trucks enter city limits through those roads with impunity, any hour of the day. The police patrol vehicles stop virtually every truck, however none are asked to turnback.

When asked how he controlled to go into, a trucker passing through Malabar County Road in the back of Nirma University, a truck driver said, “I pay Rs 100 to get in and every other Rs 100 to move out through this direction when the truck is empty. Not only this highway, we use many other roads alongside the SG Highway and SP Ringroad to go into town via paying cash to law enforcement officials.”

When this correspondent asked a cop in a PCR van stationed at the highway why the trucks were being allowed to go into, he said, “These trucks have lets in as they belong to Food Corporation of India.” However, lots of the trucks that handed via may well be seen sporting development material, sand, grit, cement and metal bars amongst other items.

What transporters says

Owner of a shipping agency, while chatting with Mirror, alleged: “Thousands of trucks illegally enter town day-to-day. There are about 55 access points of which 15 are primary the place a lot of corruption happens. The extent of corruption concerned is unfathomable. A truck that seeks illegal access pays at least Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000. Depending at the items, there’s no higher restrict. This racket is their kamau dikro (earning kid). Ultimately, passengers and consumers must pay for the corruption as no trucker or bus owner goes to bear the weight.”

What officials say

ACP traffic (administration) B B Bhagora said, “Permissions are granted in case of company body of workers buses for pick up and drop, to contractors of government tasks and vehicles that offer provisions including culmination, milk, vegetables, petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG between 1pm and 4 pm, when there’s no heavy traffic on specific routes. Permission is also given for trucks with concrete ready mix during the similar length.” Joint Commissioner of Police J R Mothaliya may now not be contacted for feedback.

Citizens raise concerns

Environmentalist Mahesh Pandya said, “Aa toh Andher nagri ne Gandu raja (loss of action and mismanagement via government). Supreme Court guidelines to curb pollution are brazenly violated via paying bribe to law enforcement officials. Any collection of buses and trucks can enter town without worry. The administration gets a warning call only when the SC or the HC wields the stick and that too is forgotten in ashort while.”

Sameer Maniar, a businessman, said, “Private luxurious buses or even trucks with grit, sand and metal in addition to ready mix vehicles ply during the day or even at peak traffic hours. There is no person to stop them. ” Vasna resident Ashish Barot said, “The method trucks openly flout laws, it seems there is no time bar for them to go into town. The law is only for namesake.”

The notification

Ahmedabad police commissioner comes out with common notifications to prevent access of heavy vehicles. The December 2017 notification, as a part of assurance to the Supreme Court to control pollution and accidents within the city, prohibited access of heavy and medium trucks, tractors and passenger vehicles into city limits between 7am and 11pm. Concession used to be given to only the ones vehicles that carried crucial items like food and fuels and so on.