PESHAWAR, May 20: Commuters on Tuesday criticised the traffic police for randomly stopping public transport vehicles, saying that their time was wasted as drivers and traffic police officials haggled over the amount of the fine to be imposed.
When contacted, two of the traffic constables posted near the general bus stand maintained that they had been told by DIG Tanvirul Haq Sipra to impose fines on wagons and busses bypassing the regular bus stand on the GT Road to stop at makeshift bus stands along the Ring Road.
THe commuters, meanwhile, accused the traffic policemen of taking bribes, saying that drivers who refused to “pay up” were kept stranded under the blazing sun for long periods of time, consequently delaying the passengers.
Gul Faraz, one of the two traffic police officials, when confronted by a chagrined commuter travelling on a bus detained by them, said that they could not disobey their superior officers, adding that they had been told to deal “strictly” with violators of traffic rules.
Later, the traffic policeman filled in the challan with reluctance visible on his face.
When this correspondent asked the traffic policemen as to why did they not stand at the general bus stand and intercept drivers from bypassing the stop, they said that they had been told to “keep an eye on the urban transport here” and discourage drivers violating the rules.
Drivers, in the meantime, dismissed the claims of the traffic police, saying that the call for observing traffic rules was “only a ruse to extort money,” adding that they were forced to stop for lengthy periods of time whenever they “offered” less than the amount demanded by the traffic constables.
They said that traffic police constables first “searched” for a cassette player and when they fail to find one they pretended to challan the vehicles, harassing them to pay up.
Commuters blamed the traffic policemen for causing them inordinate delays by demanding amount “fixed on weekly or monthly basis,” adding that they did not care about the ill and neither did they had any respect for the women travelling aboard these vehicles.