Violation of traffic rules and irregularities in traffic management are the main reasons for the recent rise in the number of road accidents in Dehradun. Long traffic jams and violations of Covid-19 protocols in local passenger vehicles are also prevalent in the city.

Dehradun District Magistrate R Rajesh Kumar stated this during his field inspection of the traffic management system on the main roads of the city along with senior superintendent of police (SSP) Yogendra Rawat.

On Monday, DM and SSP along with the enforcement team of the regional transport office conducted a joint inspection of the areas like Clock Tower, Tehsil Chowk and Sahastradhara Crossing to check the traffic management besides checking how people are complying with Covid-19 protocols in local public vehicles.

The officials found several violations on the routes of these areas like overcrowded vikrams and autorickshaws, overloaded goods vehicles, overspeeding vehicles, vehicles parked in no parking zones, riders and drivers without helmets and seat belts.

Apart from this, many people were found flouting the covid rules like not using masks and maintaining social distancing while commuting through public transportation. Rawat informed that authorities penalised all the offenders and warned them against repeating such offences again.

The SSP also directed the officials to penalise an autorickshaw driver and file a court case against him as the driver continued to drive rather than stopping his over speeding vehicle in the Clock Tower area when police directed him to stop.

The DM also disclosed the main reason for conducting this inspection. He said he has been receiving several complaints regarding the violation of traffic rules and Covid protocols by public vehicles in the city so he decided to observe the issues himself.

According to him, the administration will continue such inspections and drives to raise awareness among locals about traffic rules along with taking action against the culprits.

“I have directed the traffic police and regional transport office to take necessary actions to improve the traffic management system in the city. Authorities have also been directed to take strict actions against those who fail to comply with Covid norms in public vehicles,” informed Kumar.