Neighbouring SPs to reduce load on Setu
2 min readPatna: The Patna police directorate has decided to re-introduce the previous system to deal with the perennial problem of traffic congestion on the Gandhi Setu and also on the main roads of the state capital.
A decision to this effect was taken after a meeting with the senior superintendent of police, superintendent of police (Traffic) and other police officials at a meeting chaired by inspector general (Patna zone) Nayyar Hasnain Khan here on Tuesday.
The meeting, which was also attended by deputy superintendents of police (traffic), took a decision to seek cooperation of the SPs of neighbouring districts such as Jehanabad, Bhojpur, Gaya, Arwal and Vaishali districts to stop heavy vehicles at different places under their jurisdiction to that the pressure didn’t increase on the Setu, which is in dilapidated condition.
The system was introduced during the tenure of former director-general of police Abhayanand, which helped Patna police deal with the sudden flow of vehicles on the Setu, considered the lifeline of north Bihar. The system discontinued after the withdrawal of police forces during 2015 state assembly election.
At the same it, the officials deliberated on the passage of heavy vehicles, including trucks carrying sand and stone chips from Patna to Sonepur through J P Setu in Saran district. “The heavy vehicles will ply on the JP Setu between 10 pm and 4 am only. Security personnel will be deputed on the bridge connecting Sonepur in Saran to Patna to monitor the plying of vehicles on the bridge,” the IG said, adding that at present only light motor vehicles were allowed to cross the bridge.
Khan later told The Telegraph that it was also decided to deploy one company of the Bihar Military Police and two additional deputy superintendents of police to monitor and regulate the flow of vehicles on the Gandhi Setu. SP (traffic) and DSPs (traffic) were told to remain on roads to take stock of the situation.
A proposal has been submitted to the police headquarters requesting it to provide more 50 constables to Patna police to deal with the pressure on the streets of the capital. Station house officers (SHOs) of Patna will also be held accountable if bottlenecks were reported from the areas falling under their jurisdiction.
Six points have been identified in the city where traffic congestion was reported during office hours. “Such an arrangement is being made for the first time. Earlier, only the traffic police personnel were held responsible for any traffic snarl up in the capital,” a police officer, who was present at the IG’s meeting, said.
On Monday, chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh held a high-level meeting to introduce a new traffic system within a week to provide relief to the commuters. The meeting decided to allow heavy vehicles to cross the Ganga either from newly inaugurated Veer Kuer Singh bridge, which connects Ara to Saran, or the Rajendra bridge near Mokama (Patna).
Courtesy: The Telegraph
