Taking steps to ensure better traffic management in the city of Agra following the ruckus created during the long weekend full of hustle-bustle on New Year and the subsequent problems faced by foreign tourists visiting Taj Mahal, the Agra Police has initiated a comprehensive traffic management scheme there.

Under the scheme, major roads of the city and all government offices have been made 'compulsory-helmet zones' for two-wheelers and encroachments in the city's tourist zones are being proactively removed by the police, even though it is bringing the police at loggerheads with the local public representatives.

THE CLASH

An example of this was seen a couple of days back when an audio recording of a phone conversation between the Agra MP Ram Shankar Katheria and a sub-inspector became viral on social media where the MP was threatening the sub-inspector of dire consequences for forcefully removing encroachments on a major trunk road of the city.

Talking to India Today, Agra Senior Superintendent of Police Amit Pathak refrained to comment on this incident but claimed that the police and administration of Agra were jointly conducting this traffic management operation to ensure that the city's roads become safe for its citizens and convenient for the tourists.

THE SEMINARS IN SCHOOLS

Amit Pathak said that he has been personally conducting seminars in various schools and colleges of the city to educate the students and teachers on the importance of obeying traffic rules and the results have started showing, with the number of helmet-wearing bikers and scooterists having increased on the city's roads over the past few days.

Agra Senior Superintendent of Police Amit Pathak.

He said that even school-going kids are asking their parents to wear helmets and use seat belts when driving them to the school, which is a positive sign as these kids will grow up to become law-abiding citizens.

He said that right now, the police is not issuing challans to the school-going kids for riding two-wheelers without a helmet or proper driving license and only warning cards are being issued to them which may be signed by their parents and then deposit with their class teachers.

After some time, a thorough checking will be conducted of these kids in the morning and afternoon to find out how many of them have complied with the traffic rules and how many of them are still flouting them.

Those who do not comply will be dealt with strictly after that. So far, 4054 two-wheelers have been fined in just two days and over Rs 1.84 lakh have been collected as fine.

Pathak said that this traffic management scheme is not just restricted to the common citizens, but it is also being enforced on the police staff and other government servants.

Government offices have been asked to ensure that none of their staffers who come on two-wheelers, come to the office without a helmet.

He said that the tourism industry representatives had given many inputs on the traffic woes of the tourists in a meeting held recently and these inputs have been taken into account while designing the traffic management plan of Agra, especially the tourist zone of Fatehabad Road and nearby areas.