Poor policing makes Yamuna expressway deadly

The Uttar Pradesh police and the concessionaire, Jaypee Infratech Limited(JIL), passes the buck each time the issue of poor enforcement comes up. JIL, which constructed the expressway and is now looking after its operations, said it is the job of the government in general and the police in particular to ensure enforcement .

Speeding and poor enforcement by the traffic police are the key reasons for frequent accidents on the 165km Yamuna Expressway, that connects Greater Noida with Agra, officials said.

The mangled remains of the sleeper bus that crashed into a truck on the Yamuna Expressway on Friday, March 29, 2019. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

The traffic police from January 1, 2019, till date could issue fines to only 5,700 motorists of the 1,39,000 violators who were caught speeding by the cameras on this expressway.

The Uttar Pradesh police and the concessionaire, Jaypee Infratech Limited(JIL), passes the buck each time the issue of poor enforcement comes up. JIL, which constructed the expressway and is now looking after its operations, said it is the job of the government in general and the police in particular to ensure enforcement.

“In Friday’s accident, the bus driver fell asleep and rammed the bus into a truck. Drivers do not fear the law because there are hardly any police personnel deployed on the expressway to penalise violators. There are only one or two cops near the Jewar toll plaza to issue fines,” a JIL spokesperson said.

JIL said the state government should deploy more personnel at all toll plazas.“during our meetings with chief minister Yogi Adityanath, we asked to increase the number of traffic personnel policing the expressway. But nothing is happening despite numerous accidents due to speeding,” the spokesperson said.

On average, 1,500 traffic violators are caught daily with the help of close circuit television cameras installed along the expressway, data available with the concessionaire showed.

“However, only 50 violators are being prosecuted daily. We cannot do much about it because we can inform the police about violations and it is their duty to issue fines,” spokesperson said.

According to traffic police, fines will be issued diligently once all district police teams coordinate better. “As of now, only parts of the expressway are under CCTV surveillance. Once the entire 165km is covered by CCTV cameras, and all districts work in coordination, more fines will be issued . The government has to take a call on posting more policemen,” Anil Kumar Jha, superintendent of police,(traffic) Gautam Budh Nagar, said.

Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh said the state government will look into the issue. “We will take this issue up with chief minister so that adequate steps are taken on the expressway to ensure the safety of motorists.”