Only 87 get stickers but PU enforces entry rule

While the traffic menace in Panjab University has become a problem spiralling out of control, it is likely to cause further traffic congestion at its gates, where already there are traffic jams due to the enhanced checking and volume of traffic owing to the upcoming PUCSC polls

Even as Panjab University (PU) has now started to implement entry to PU for those with stickers, only 87 students have received stickers on the first day, PU officials said.

As per PU authorities, around 4,000 odd vehicles have been identified which day scholars bring to PU. (HT File Photo)

While PU has introduced vehicle stickers for day scholars, and officials have said that vehicles without stickers will be stopped for checking while those with stickers will be waved in by the authorities, the reception of this project has been lukewarm.

As per PU authorities, around 4,000 odd vehicles have been identified which day scholars bring to PU. Since PU had introduced the stickers scheme and started online registration for it, around 596 have registered on the PU portal. The registered students are supposed to come to the DSW office to receive the stickers but only around 87 have received them.

PU officials said that it is a cause of concern, whether those who have registered actually have these vehicles, and why they are not coming to claim their stickers.

Speaking about how the varsity can speed up the adoption of the sticker policy, dean students welfare Amit Chauhan said, “Till now we had just been informing students and the chairpersons of various departments regarding the scheme but now we will scale up its implementation. We plan that on the PUCSC election date on September 3, entry will only be given to vehicles which have stickers on them.”

Chauhan further added that on Tuesday, students who are coming to the campus will be stopped at the gate and made to register on PU’s portal for getting a vehicle sticker. “By Thursday, if we find out that if a student has been asked to register on PU’s portal before still hasn’t applied then we are considering turning away the vehicles of such students,” he added.

While the traffic menace in Panjab University has become a problem spiralling out of control, it is likely to cause further traffic congestion at its gates, where already there are traffic jams due to the enhanced checking and volume of traffic owing to the upcoming PUCSC polls. On Monday morning, it took almost half an hour to go from the Dhanas T-point to gate number 3 as PU authorities try to check as many vehicles as they can which enter PU.

However, with an increasing number of weapons and alcohol bottles being recovered from vehicles coming to campus, PU security officials said they will have to keep checking the vehicles to prevent mishaps, even as some traffic bottlenecks may form. While the UT police is deployed in PU to maintain peace during elections, the traffic police remains woefully absent to manage the traffic around the campus.