Public vehicles ply freely without indicators or backlights in Dwarka
Come foggy winters, and Dwarka turns into a nightmare for motorists and small cars. But is the fog alone to blame? Apparently not. Heavy vehicles plying without backlights, reflectors, side glasses and indicators are equally responsible for the dangerous situation on the roads.
Dwarka has about 60 km of master plan roads and about the same length of internal roads. Water tankers, tempos, Gramin Sewa vehicles and Metro feeder buses plying on these roads flout almost all safety norms.
A resident of Vrindavan Apartments in Sector 6, Shishir Miglani, said, “Driving after 9 pm or in the wee hours of the morning is a nightmare! You can’t see even 2 metres ahead. And under such circumstances, when heavy vehicles ply without backlights, reflectors or even indicators, the situation can get dangerous.”
He added, “The stretch from Sector 9 signal towards Sector 8 Dada Dev Mandir is particularly bad. The weekly market there makes the zone accident-prone.”
Old three-wheelers and tempos mostly ply without backlights or indicators
Vehicles plying without safety mechanisms, such as backlights, fog lights and indicators, violate the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA). But, unfortunately, nobody seems to mind.
SK Goel, general secretary of Dwarka Forum and a resident of Vikram Nagar CGHS, has been actively involved in promoting traffic safety and pedestrian rights through various campaigns. He said, “These vehicles openly flout the MVA. On Master Plan Road Number 201, old three-wheelers and tempos ply without backlights or indicators — some don’t even have headlights! They take passengers from Kakrola Mor to Palam flyover, stopping wherever they want. These vehicles should be immediately impounded.”
Heavy vehicles, too, rampantly violate the norms of the Motor Vehicles Act
Such vehicles are a common sight in sectors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 19, 22, 23, Kakrola, Metro stations of sectors 9 and 10, Goyla Dairy, Amberhai Village and Bagdola Village.
Anupam Yashovardhan, RWA general secretary of Sector 14, Pocket 1, added, “Metro feeder buses are most commonly seen violating MVA rules. It’s not just one or two things, the CNG cylinders are without covers, the reflectors are missing, as are the backlights, and the bus bodies are damaged. Shouldn't we at least expect the Metro feeder buses to follow the norms?”
Traffic officials, however, said vehicles flouting MVA norms are prosecuted, but the violations are so rampant that a lot of them go unpunished.
