Out of frustration due to poor attendance during his rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered an inquiry into the inconvenience caused to the residents. What is the use of such an inquiry when everything was done on the dictates of the BJP. The party violated all norms, ferrying the supporters to the rally venue in school buses and a large number of party flags were put up across the city. If he has the guts, he should take action against local BJP leaders and recover the amount sent on the preparations. He should also make an effort to end the VIP culture.
SK Khosla,Chandigarh
PM could have used chopper to reach rally venue
The security arrangements for VVIPs have always been a reason of discord between the UT Administration and the general public. The event could have been arranged at the Mohali airport or on the outskirts of the city. The Prime Minister could have used a chopper to reach the rally venue, avoiding inconvenience to the residents.
Upasana S Bhargava,Chandigarh
Inform public in advance about alternative routes
The police should inform the public in advance about alternative routes and ensure a safe passage for ambulances. During the recent visit of the Prime Minister, schools were shut, which was avoidable and deplorable. The administration could have opened the schools on Sunday to make up for the loss of the studies.
Janeshwar Kumar Jain,Chandigarh
Influential people should co-operate with Admn
The influential people of the city should introspect and co-operate with the Administration and take out a minimum number of vehicles on the VVIP routes, thus lessen the chaos on city roads. People should be asked to avoid the route being used for the movement of a VVIP’s cavalcade.
Bhupinder S Sealopal,Mohali
Hold functions on holidays
Whenever VVIPs visit the city, it results in traffic chaos. For their convenience, people are put to inconveniences. One way to check the problem is to hold such functions on holidays. After landing at the airport, VVIPs can use a helicopter to reach their destination.
Nikita Kapur,Chandigarh
Use mass media to interact with people
VVIPs should interact with people through the mass media rather than holding political rallies, which often result in the harassment to the general public and the disruption of emergency services. The closure of schools for the transportation of supporters in school buses to the rally venue and banning the entry to a cremation ground due to the security concerns is the slaughter of the fundamental rights and democracy.
Dr Urminder Kaur Neeru,Patiala
VVIPs, people should be treated equally
The VIP visits have become a nightmare for the recent. The recent visit by the PM caused a lot of inconvenience to people. The common man should not suffer due to such visits. The traffic norms are the same for VVIPs as well as the city residents. The worst sufferers are the patients who need timely treatment.
Dr Shruti K Chawla, Chandigarh
Hold such functions in wee hours
To avoid traffic jams, inconvenience to the public and closure of schools, the only alternative left is to plan such ceremonies in the wee hours or late night night. Instead of engaging the whole of the administration, only a few officials should be asked to welcome the VVIP.
AS Ahuja,Chandigarh
PM’s visit an eye-opener
The visit of the Prime Minister was an eye-opener for the UT Administration. Despite the shutting of the schools and restrictions on the use of the crematorium, the motorists and the general public had to suffer a lot for hours in hot and humid conditions.
Hardeep Singh Slaich,Mohali
Use technology for security arrangements
The authorities should not create panic among the public during the visit of any VVIP in the city. They should concentrate on the internal security arrangements while using an advanced technology without halting the traffic. The movement of vehicles should be stopped only for a few minutes.
Sukhpal Singh,Chandigarh
Shameful act
Declaring a holiday in the schools and halting the traffic movement linking the Sector 25 cremation ground and hospitals was a shameful act. This step is detrimental to the democracy.
Sumesh Kumar Badhwar,Mohali
Political will only solution
The political will is the only solution to the problem. Without compromising on their security, VVIPs can introduce a substantial cut in their security fleet. It is ironical that empty ambulance, especially used for the VVIP visits, move freely whereas the critical patients get stuck in traffic jams.
Agam Singh Bedi,Mohali
Manage properly
Closing the crematorium during a VVIP visit is the height of insensitivity. The closure of schools is the reflection of the failure of the administration in handling the situation during a VVIP visit. A cut should be introduced in the VVIP cavalcade. The VVIP visits be should not take place during busy hours. The policemen deployed on the
traffic junctions should be communicated two to three minutes before the passage of a convoy. A separate VVIP route can be carved for the
hassle-free movement of the public.
JPS Kalra,Chandigarh
Avoid closure of schools
VVIP visits are important for a city. During such visits, the closure of schools should be avoided and the authorities should take necessary steps to inform about alternate routes to people so that they are not inconvenienced.
Raman Kumar,Chandigarh
Functions should be held outside city
Though it is difficult to put an end to the VVIP culture, the nuisance caused by such visits can be minimised. All functions during the visit of the PM could have been held outside the city such as Rajindra Park. The PM could have visited the Governor’s house, Mohali airport and the PGI through a chopper.
Tejinder Singh Kalra,Mohali
Come out with innovative ideas
The authorities should come out with innovative ideas to solve such
problems. Information about alternate routes should be given via newspapers, radio, GPS and mobile apps. The provision of a helipad close to the venue of a political rally can be considered for security reasons.
AS Hundal,Chandigarh
Avoid making route for cavalcade public
As far as possible such functions should be held on Sundays because the traffic flow on the day is very low and most of the schools and markets are closed. Secondly, alternative routes without compromising on the security of a VVIP should be adopted without making it public through the media.
Balbir Singh Batra,Mohali.
Keep well-being of masses in mind
Senior officers should lead from the front. The organisers should select a venue keeping in mind the well-being of the masses. Shortest and lesser used roads should be used for the passage of the cavalcade of a VVIP. The use of a helicopter is the best option during a VVIP visit.
Harbans Singh,Ambala Cantt
Plan visit on holidays
VVIPs should plan their visits on public holidays as there will be no hindrance to the flow of the traffic on these days. The closure of offices and schools on such days will help in decongesting the roads and avoiding inconvenience to residents.
Vijay Singla,Chandigarh
Instead of showing off focus on results
Spending crore of rupees just to hand over keys of a housing scheme was a “tammasha”. The sick and the dead must be given priority. Follow the human values instead of bending before VVIPs. The results are more important than the show off.
Opinder Kaur Sekhon,Chandigarh
VIP culture responsible for goof-up
The VVIP culture is responsible for a series of goof-ups during the visit of PM Narendra Modi. The over enthusiastic UT Administration, closed 192 schools in Chandigarh during the crucial time of examinations, made cremation ground out of bounds, resulting in a harrowing time for patients. The visit also affected the working of courts and Congress leaders were detained.
Paras R Kalotra, Mohali
Comment Rajmeet Singh*
Adopt people-friendly approach
THE Prime Minister’s recent visit to the city beautiful for which unprecedented security measures were adopted drew sharp criticism. For the one-and-a-half-hour political extravaganza, UT officials tried to appease the ruling party by spending lakhs of rupees from the state exchequer, raising questions about the absence of a citizen-friendly standard operating procedure (SOP) for VVIP visits.
Reminding the VVIP culture, top functionaries of the Chandigarh Administration, led by the Governor of Haryana and Punjab-cum-Administrator of the UT, ordered the closure of the schools, took over the Sector 25 crematorium for the parking of vehicles and took the PM’s motorcade through city’s busiest road, leaving the citizens fuming.
The visit by the PM that was termed historic, coinciding with inauguration of the civil air terminal at Mohali.
Though it is yet to be seen what will be the result of the inquiry ordered by the PM into the inconvenience caused to the residents, it is the time that the authorities decide on the standard operating procedure for such VVIP visits.
It would not out of place to mention that even the national media had reported that after taking over as the PM, Narendra Modi had reviewed his security arrangements and issued fresh guidelines so that commuters do not face harassment due to his movement.
It was reported that the PMO had directed the Delhi Police that traffic restrictions should be minimal during his movement and demanded an end to the practice of blocking the passage of commuters. However, the opposite was practiced in the city, which was shut down, literally. It is a high time that the local authorities organise such functions on weekends when there is less traffic on city roads.
There is also a need to study the public-friendly protocols followed by other advanced countries to introduced need-based changes in the norms followed for such visits.
