29 April,2009 10:20 AM IST | | Kaumudi Gurjar
Write to government to arm them with more powers, so that they can arrest, fine and book offendersu00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
Six people died in speeding accidents on Pune's highways till March 31 this year, and last year's tally of speeding deaths on the highways stands at 59. Officials at Pune's Highway Traffic Division, which controls 18 traffic posts on the Pune-Kolhapur highway MH04, Puneu00e2u0080u0093Solapur MH09, Pune-Mumbai expressway NH-50 and the Pune-Nashik highway say they aren't empowered to check traffic offenders.
Sources said the highway traffic posts at Vadgaon and Khandala on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway are short staffed. Shashikant Chavan, superintendent of police, highway traffic division, said, "Speedometers that were damaged in 2007 have not been replaced. We are unable to judge accurately if vehicles are speeding past the permissible limits. Moreover, we have to approach the local police station to lodge complaints against offenders because we do not have powers to book, fine or arrest them."
Chavan added, "While we do have three cranes that can lift vehicles up to 10 tonnes, we have to hire cranes to lift anything heavier. These limitations handicap us in fulfilling our duties. We wrote to the Home Ministry in January, requesting them for powers to fine, arrest and book traffic offenders, if necessary."
The Pune district traffic division comprises roads in Khandala, Vadgaon, Sarola, Baramati Phata, Dalaj in Indapur and Alephata on Nasik Road.
