Traffic Sentinel Scheme is a hit and gets hit too

Team Herald

PANJIM: Though the Goa Police Traffic Sentinel Scheme empowering people to participate in better management of traffic is gaining popularity, with cops receiving on an average 1500 violations daily, violators have grievances of receiving multiple challans for a single offence in a day. 

A lady who doesn’t want to be named informed Herald that she received a challan for the same day with a time difference of just three minutes in Panjim at two different locations. 

“This is not the case just with me, but people have been suffering due to the lack of a mechanism in the traffic department. I am not against the scheme but it has to be streamlined so that people are not harassed unnecessarily,” she said. 

The one of its kind of scheme inviting people to report certain traffic offences is slowly taking another shape after traffic police themselves started reporting violations in the scheme, leading to confusion among people as cops have been stopping commuters in Panjim and clicking pictures and allowing them to go instead of issuing challans.

“If the same police clicking pictures are allowed to issue challans than what’s the point in taking pictures? It would be easier for the people to pay and move ahead instead of wasting time to specially come to Margao or Panjim to pay the challan,” said Annirudh Bhaje, a Taleigao resident. 

People have complained that often a sentinel clicks pictures at the Divja circle or some other places while they are proceeding to Panjim city but they are again stopped at Panjim ferry point by traffic police who click a picture of them not wearing helmets. 

Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Dinraj Govekar said traffic violations have visibly reduced after the launch of the scheme. “Whatever issues come before the Traffic Cell are resolved on time. We are also working on the automation project for quick dispatch of challans with scrutiny,” he said.