Srinagar
Scores of Sumo and Taveera drivers Tuesday staged a protest against a Traffic Police Officer accusing him ‘harassment’ and ‘loot’ in the name of discharging the official duty.
The drives from different parts of Kashmir assembled here in Press Enclave Srinagar. They said that one Traffic Police Officer of DySP rank Farooq Ahmed seized their vehicles from different parts of Srinagar. “We are being asked to pay Rs 2500 to Rs 3500 in the garb of challan. Our fault is that we are entering in the limits of Srinagar city. We are not allowed to pick and drop the passengers near LD Hospital. Even Jahangir Chowk is closed for us. We don’t know about the route plan,” the protesting drivers said.
“We are all educated and are not doing any government jobs. We request the concerned department to take action against the said police officer who has become habitual of harassing poor drivers,” they said.
The protesting drivers urged upon the authorities and Governor Administration to transfer the said officer. “Despite being in possession of all documents and despite following traffic rules, we are being targeted and money is being grabbed from us. We have no source of income and we appeal Governor Administration to take the matter seriously,” the protesting drivers said.
Commenting on this, IGP Traffic Alok Kumar said that he would look into the matter. “As per court directions, only contract carriage can enter into city limits. Sumos and Taveeras’ have a different route plan. Still, I will look into the matter,” he added. (CNS)
