UP: Village heads to ensure tractor-trolleys are not over-crowded

PRAYAGRAJ: The local police have roped in gram pradhans in trans-Ganga and Yamuna areas to ensure that only trained and experienced persons drive tractor-trolleys while ferrying people\devotees.
The move comes in the backdrop of the recent Kanpur mishap that claimed the lives of 27 people when a tractor-trolley ferrying devotees fell into a pond.
As scores of people from rural areas of trans Ganga and Yamuna as well as adjoining districts often take Nishan yatra - a religious journey from their villages concerned to lord Hanuman temple located at Sangam on every Tuesday and Saturdays to offer prayers after their wishes got fulfilled-- cops have intensified a drive in all four districts of the range, including Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Kaushambi and Pratapgarh, to ensure safety of devotees.
Cops have started awareness campaigns among tractor drivers to check over-crowding and over-speeding.
Inspector general of police, Prayagraj range, Rakesh Singh told TOI: “An awareness campaign has been launched in all four districts of the Prayagraj range to ensure that tractor drivers do not involve in rash driving. Teams of civil police as well as traffic police will hold meetings with gram pradhans to ensure that drivers as well as repute persons of villages check over speeding and over-crowding of tractor trolleys.”
IG added: “Gram pradhans with the help of police have been asked to ensure that drivers are not on the wheels in an inebriated state.”
Moreover, there should be fixed ‘seating capacity’ on tractor trolley and cops have been asked to hold chaupals at village level to create mass awareness for road safety.
In Prayagraj region, it has been witnessed that groups of devotees while embarking on Nishan yatra travel on overcrowded tractor-trolleys.
Cops said barricading will be done at identified spots with an objective to check over-crowding and over-speeding of tractors.
As tractor trolleys are a major source of transportation in villages to ferry people\devotees for religious and social gatherings, cops have also roped in reputed people of villages to keep a strict eye on drivers and inform police in case they spot any violation of road safety norms.