The road to safety
by Mir Tanveer
Stunt bikers in Srinagar city are in for strict police action for jeopardising levels of
safety on the City roads. Hope this cleans up the chaos on the roads and pedestrians and
vehicles can move about without fear THE Srinagar city and its outskirts are witnessing a
dangerous trend of rash-riding these days. There is an increasing number of passionate bikers, mostly very young people and even teenagers, who risk their lives and others’ lives while indulging in over-speeding, stunt-biking, drifting, zigzag, and drag races on the roads. The Kashmir valley is witnessing a sharp rise in such activities, posing a serious threat to the safety of even other commuters. No matter how much track the police may keep of such dangerous antics of bikers, they manage to escape by hiding their registration number plates and avoid punitive action. Meanwhile, their moto-vlogs (videos on social media accounts) receive thousands of hits. These bikers are seen using helmet recording cameras to shoot during speedy rides while performing stunts on the busy and congested Boulevard Srinagar city road and Parrypora-Hyderpora road. These bikers are also seen trying stunts on some tourist-heavy roads like Magam & Gulmarg roads passing through Kashmir, Budgam and Baramulla districts.
A recent case
In a recent incident, a family travelling from Tangmarg to Srinagar city was almost ‘attacked’ by a stunt-bikers gang on their way home near Paryypora area of the
Srinagar city. Talking to the media, a member of the family said: “On our way back home, we witnessed some really dangerous and nasty antics of these stunt bikers. This was somewhere on the road near Kawoosa-Narbal area. They were two on a motorcycle each and were eight in total. I tried to capture a video of them but when one of them realised I was filming them, they started chasing us and attacked our vehicle by bringing their motorcycles in front of our vehicle, pushing us to stop. Then they went on to attack our vehicle and tried to assault us and used coarse language. In fact at one point, I felt they might just kill us out of rage. Anyways, now I am forced to drive with my windows rolled up, lest there should be another such attack”. She says she recorded a video for help and assistance against the gang and called the police control room emergency number which safeguarded them from those insane bikers.
The family is thankful to the police officials for timely action as serious notice was taken of the case and within hours, the gang was arrested and was under police custody along with the bikes. A case of offence on public roads was also registered against them for
violating traffic rules and norms in the City and its outskirts, posing a threat to public lives.
Cops get strict
As per Srinagar police officials, a case has been filed and a strict punishment will be meted out to the gang.“We have arrested them and further investigation is going on. They shall not be spared at any cost,”added an official.During an interaction regarding this matter,
the Srinagar SSP Traffic Muzaffar Shah said, “Our officials have taken a strong action in the case. We are always out on a hunt against such offenders who risk their and other people’s lives. We always create check points in Srinagar city and its outskirts areas to
minimise such disastrous actions by such stunt bikers.” But, he added, the police alone cannot control such disastrous behaviour. “Parents too need to focus on their children and their activities and behaviour outside. Kids need to be brought up with a sense of accountability so that they don’t land themselves and their families in trouble,”he pointed.
The RTO (Regional Office, Srinagar) Shahanaz Bukhari also added that “we will take strict action against all these violators of law by cancelling registration certificates issued to the owners of these bikes. No one will be spared. Earlier, in a case in the Dal Gate area, we had cancelled registration certificates of those involved in similar violations”.
The public suffers
We at KC, spoke to some senior citizens in Srinagar city. They admit that these stunt bikers, with their dangerous stunts and racing, had made travelling and moving about tough for both pedestrians as well as other vehicles. They feel that these stunt bikers not only endanger their own lives but also pose a threat to other people’s lives on the city roads. There is a need to take strict action and slap heavy fines against such violators of law, they feel. Some girl students in Srinagar city also feel these bikers make it difficult for them to move around,particularly during morning and evening hours. They share that they fear travelling in conditions when these bikers pass by at extremely high speed, ziz-zagging so close to others on the roads. Here’s hoping that the authorities are able to curb this dangerous trend among our youngsters and it’s all safe on the City roads.
