Tiwari who was thrown off balance fell down and sustained serious injuries. He has been in the hospital ever since and is barely able to walk. Reckless driving has been the bane of not only of Bhopal but also of all the cities of India. Small wonder then that there has been a steep rise in the number of accidents and casualties. Unfortunately the rise in the prosperity and acquisition of new motor vehicles has not been accompanied by good traffic discipline.

Through the 'Letters to the Editor" Column of your esteemed Newspaper I have tried to invite the attention of the administration, the police and the motorists to the rampant irresponsible driving by most motorists particularly the 2 and 3 wheeler owners on the city roads and the traffic police's apathy to the ever worsening conditions.

To cite here a few glaring violations to substantiate the point made above: a large number of the motorists do not bother about the traffic signals and continue driving in total disregard of the red sign and/ or the pedestrian crossings. Zigzag driving, carrying dangerous and unwieldy luggage, driving without helmets, driving in the wrong lane, overtaking from the wrong side, using cell-phones while driving and failing to use dippers at night and driving against the flow of traffic are some other violations that militate against safe and disciplined driving.

The traffic police need to be strict in dealing with the lawbreakers. On their part the motorists must cooperate to minimize the chances of accidents. A few minutes saved by speeding may result in one or more precious lives lost and a few families ruined.

Relentless defacement of city walls/ conveniences

After a brief respite of a year or so since the District Collector ordered strict action against the poster plasters who repeatedly defaced and disfigured the city walls, important public notice boards, traffic rotaries, bus stands, police outposts, colony map boards and public conveniences by pasting posters, the poster plasters are back in force with a fury never witnessed before. There is not a single public place in the entire city that has not been defaced or disfigured. It is so very distressing that those responsible for keeping the city neat and clean have not bothered to take the culprits to task with the result that more and more public places and conveniences are coming under their assault.

Will the District Collector and the Municipal Commissioner please take note of the uglification campaign launched by some irresponsible people and consider launching stringent action against their nefarious activities?

RJ Khurana