MGP proposes task force to address traffic woes in Mysore

The Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) has mooted the idea of formation of a Traffic Task Force in Mysore, on the lines of Bangalore, for coordination among government departments concerned in tackling traffic problems of the city, said R Chandra Prakash, president of MGP.

In a press release issued here, Prakash has stated that the participants placed traffic problems before the representatives of the departments and sought solution. M A Saleem, Commissioner of Police, Asha Bharath, Assistant Director of Town Planning, MCC, Ramakrishna Iyengar, ARTO and Maqsood Ahmed, Divisional Traffic Officer, KSRTC, participated in the MGP’s monthly meeting.

It came to the fore that lack of inter-departmental coordination was the cause for most of the problems. It was felt that a Traffic Task Force should be constituted.

Maqsood Ahmed explained that inappropriate and faulty location of bus shelters by the MCC resulted in huge problems for the KSRTC. The location of autorickshaw stands, very close to bus shelters, and the presence of footpath vendors in or around them, caused major problems for both drivers and commuters.

Asha Bharat explained that the MCC was just an executing agency when it came bus shelters, which are selected by peoples’ representatives like Corporators and MLAs.

Saleem explained the difference between traffic regulation, which is the domain of the Police department, and traffic management, which is a product of policies and rules of agencies such as MCC, RTO and others. 

He made it clear that the Police has a restricted role of traffic regulation. He made a mention of the Traffic Task Force in Bangalore, which he claimed had reduced deaths due to traffic accidents, apart from disciplining the drivers.  “Even though there is no such task force in Mysore, the government departments concerned such as the RTO, MCC and KSRTC and the Police are having informal coordination meetings to thrash out inter-departmental issues,” Saleem said.