VVIP convoys causing traffic jam

By K. Srinivas Reddy

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 28. Believe it or not, vehicular traffic in the Hi-tech City comes to a grinding halt on many of the main arterial routes at least 16 times a day on an average leading to massive traffic jam.

You are mistaken if you think increasing number of vehicles or narrow roads are the reasons for such jam. These are rather enforced by the police to ensure a `non-stop cruise' for the VVIP convoys which whiz past at great speed while the regular commuter is forced to wait for at least 15 to 30 minutes to get out of the subsequent traffic jam.

If the log books maintained by the police are any indication, the convoys of six VVIPs criss-crossed the city roads over 850 times from August 1 onwards with the daily average working out to around 16 trips. Mind you, for every trip, traffic will have to be halted at every junction on all directions, irrespective of the timings.

`Green Channel', as the city police would term the hold-up of traffic for the sake of convoy movement, is extended to eight functionaries - Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Justice, Home Minister, former Home Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Assembly Speaker and former Prime Ministers. Incidentally, Hyderabad is the only city to have so many dignitaries enjoying the Green Channel while in other metros traffic is stopped for only three or four dignitaries.

If one were to take the example of Delhi, Governor, Chief Minister, Supreme Court Chief Justice and former Prime Ministers are given the facility. Similar is the case with Chennai and Bangalore. But in Mumbai only Governor, Chief Minister and former Premiers cruise along without stopping anywhere.

Why should Hyderabad have so many dignitaries having this facility? Primarily security considerations demand that the VVIP convoys do not get entangled in the regular traffic. But the moot point would be how many of them are `targets'? Police officers agree that threat perception is minimal for some of them. In that case shouldn't the inconvenience to the general public be also considered by the police? Police officers agree that it is high time the facility was curtailed. But who is to bell the cat?

Would the police have a relook at extending Green Channel? The police have been thinking on these lines, but nothing seems to have been decided. In addition to the regular traffic snarls, the VVIP movements throw the normal functioning of the police out of gear since all men and officers are called out on the roads. It is not as if the VVIPs are not unaware of the sufferings of the common man. Sometimes, they proudly announce that they would not use the siren and that their movement would not affect others. But invariably, they go back on their word.

"How much fuel is getting burnt and how much time is wasted just for the sake of so-called security of the VVIP. If they are so insecure, why can't they live near their offices and curtail their movements. Has any police officer or the VVIP thought about the inconvenience caused to the public?" B. Venkateshwar Rao, a motorcyclist caught in the traffic jam the other day, complains bitterly. Are there any listeners?

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