Syed Nissar H. Gilani
Two Contrasting Realities: Empathy vs. Apathy
In the United States, a story recently went viral that captured the essence of compassionate law enforcement. A police officer pulled over a young Black university student driving with an expired license. Learning that the young man had just been fired from his night job, was using his last remaining savings to afford basic food and rent, and was rushing to a crucial job interview, the officer chose discretion over rigid enforcement. He parked his patrol car, helped the young man fix his tie, drove him directly to the interview, and explained the delay to the interviewers. The student landed the job and later renewed his license properly. That act demonstrated true policing—where human empathy and social context take precedence over mere ticket quotas.
Contrast this with a recent afternoon in Srinagar’s Parraypora area. A 45-year-old man was riding pillion on a friend’s scooter. Both were fully compliant with traffic rules—holding valid driving licenses and wearing protective helmets. Out of nowhere, a speeding car struck the scooter with immense force. The pillion rider was hurled onto the tarmac, breaking his leg severely and bleeding heavily.
Traffic police officers stationed nearby remained passive onlookers, failing even to record the registration plate of the fleeing vehicle, despite the entire sequence being captured on CCTV. Only after local citizens stepped in was the victim rushed to the nearby Bone and Joint Hospital. A month later, after surgery, he remains bedridden with a long recovery ahead, while local traffic authorities have taken no formal cognizance of the hit-and-run.
A Growing Pattern of Fatal Recklessness
This incident is not an isolated one; it highlights a broader crisis across the valley. Tragedies on these very roads have claimed prominent lives:
The young son of a Senior Superintendent of Police was killed on the Parraypora–Barzulla stretch when a reckless driver lost control, overturned, crossed the central divider, and struck him on the spot while he was walking on the opposite side of the road.
The elderly father of gastroenterologist Dr. Manzoor Wani was struck by an overspeeding car on 90 Feet Road, suffering fatal injuries.
Compounding the hazard is the dangerous surge in teenage stunt-biking and reckless driving. Groups of young drivers perform reckless maneuvers on congested roads, endangering themselves and pedestrians alike. A strict, uncompromising crackdown on underage driving and stunt-riding is urgently required to tame this menace before more families lose loved ones.
Infrastructure Bottlenecks and Civic Gridlock
Beyond human error, infrastructure shortages severely strain daily road traffic:
Acute Parking Shortages: The lack of designated parking spaces in both urban commercial hubs and rural market areas forces vehicles onto narrow lanes, creating severe bottlenecks.
Encroachment and Conflict: Shopkeepers frequently place illegal barriers outside their premises to reserve private spots, leading to heated altercations with motorists and worsening road obstruction.
Unstable Signal Systems: Traffic control signals often fail or turn into sources of confusion during power outages, forcing exhausted, understaffed field personnel to manage chaotic traffic manually.
National Road Safety Statistics
The local crisis mirrors alarming national statistics across India:
• Daily Fatalities: Approximately 480 to 540 people die daily in road accidents across the country.
• Annual Toll: India records over 1.75 lakh (175,000) fatalities and more than 4.5 lakh injuries annually due to traffic collisions.
• Primary Causes: Over-speeding, rash driving, and stunt-riding account for 58% to 60% of all road deaths in the country.
NATIONAL ROAD ACCIDENT IMPACT (ANNUAL)
Fatalities: ~175,000+ | Daily Deaths: 480 – 540 | Speeding/Reckless Driving: ~60%
Institutional Solutions and Best Practices
To overcome traffic management hurdles, Kashmir can adapt proven urban management models from other parts of India:
The Indore Model (Intelligent Traffic Management System): Indore uses a centralized Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) equipped with AI-powered cameras. The system automatically detects red-light violations, speeding, and hit-and-run incidents, issuing e-challans without requiring manual police intervention at every corner.
Dedicated CCTV Audit Teams: Establishing dedicated review cells within control rooms allows authorities to scrutinize CCTV footage remotely, ensuring hit-and-run drivers are tracked and prosecuted even when field officers are managing physical bottlenecks.
Smart & Solar-Powered ATCS: Upgrading signals to Adaptive Traffic Control Systems (ATCS) equipped with battery and solar backups prevents signal blackouts during power cuts.
Road safety relies on both individual civic discipline and automated, equitable enforcement. Combining compassionate policing on the ground with modern technology in control rooms can restore safety, accountability, and justice to Kashmir’s roads.
The author is a former civil servant. He can be reached at nisargilani57748@gmail.com
