Day 2 of jaywalking drive: 51 fined

The Mumbai traffic police was unsparing on the second day of the jaywalking drive. Nearly a dozen of the 51 pedestrians fined were High Court employees. Karthik Balasubramanian reports.

The Mumbai traffic police was unsparing on the second day of the jaywalking drive. Nearly a dozen of the 51 pedestrians fined were High Court employees. The policemen did not even spare senior citizens and injured people.

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Navneeta Tambe (27), a High Court lawyer, grinned as she got ready to pay the fine for not using the subway but was let go with a warning. She was one of the few to be let off without paying.

Dinah Saldana (66), a Bandra resident, was not as lucky.

Told that the subway had an elevator, and hence, not tough on her age, she was forced to pay up. Sometime later, she reappeared. “Show me one working elevator in this subway,” she demanded, as none of the elevators were operational.

“Look at the others you are fining. They can’t even afford the fine,” she argued, gesturing at a ragged middle-aged deliveryman with a cast on his right hand and a bundle slung on his left shoulder, caught while crossing the road.

Manoj Gautam (40), a pujari begged reprieve saying he was rushing across the road to conduct a religious ceremony.
“One puja gets me Rs 100 in dakshina. Don’t take ceremonial money from me,” he pleaded.

Towards the end of the drive, a high court official was caught and made to stand in line to pay the fine.