Hope for a smoother ride under the e-pass system

This picture has been used for representational purpose

The Mumbai police has now scotched colour stickers on cars allowed to ply in the new curbs plan. In mid-April the police had announced that to restrict and regularise vehicular movement, they had introduced colour coded stickers for cars.

The red colour sticker was for medical personnel and medical equipment. There was a green colour sticker for essential food supplies. A yellow-coloured sticker was for staff engaged in essential services.

Now, with the e-pass system back for inter-state and inter-district travel, it was decided to end the colour coding. Police personnel had also complained about difficulties in checking cars stickers. A report in this paper cited how they were struggling checking cars that did not have those particular stickers and they had also stated that they were putting themselves in danger interacting with the occupants of these vehicles.

One appreciates the necessity of restricted movements in light of this unprecedented wave. Every system though must have solid thought and vision when being implemented. For instance, when this colour-coded sticker system was announced, one has to think what happens to cars that do not have stickers but were on the road because of some emergency.

In the first lockdown too, there were considerable grey areas when it came to intra-city movement. There was not too much clarity on the number of persons allowed, whether they should be masked inside the car and what exactly defines an emergency.

One hopes for a smoother ride this time around, with car owners and the others too showing decorum and respect to the police. Explain what the emergency exactly is, and be prepared to answer questions, about everything from destination, to number of occupants. Arguments and aggression lead to a confrontation, one that the city and you can ill afford in these times.