MANGALORE: Mangalore city is witnessing a boom in construction activity and owing to transportation of ore and other materials, several trucks criss-cross the city roads and the three National Highways that pass through the city. They trucks, which carry loose soil, ores, hazardous chemicals and steel, travel at high speeds without any concern for other road users.

The district administration and the Police Department appear to have given the transport contractors a free run. These trucks put the lives of thousands of children, who travel in vans or ride pillion on their parents' two wheelers to schools, in danger. These trucks are much larger than the normal tippers and the drivers' seat is too high to enable the driver to negotiate through city traffic. Small vehicles and pedestrians have been run over several occasions, and since these vehicles often do not feel anything under their wheels, the driver tends to move on without even stopping to look at what he has hit, which amounts to a hit and run case.

No number plates

A more serious issue with regard to these trucks is that people cannot even take down the number of these trucks as many of them either do not have number plates or they are illegible.

Even bus drivers in the city are cautious of these trucks. There is a rule that bans the movement of heavy trucks in city limits between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., but the district administration has failed to take any steps on this issue.

When asked about trucks moving without number plates, Superintendent of Police, Dakshina Kannada, B. Dayananda, said: "There is no restriction on the movement of trucks in the city, but owing to heavy congestions in some of the places such as Hampankatta, K.S. Rao Road, Market Road, Balmatta and other central areas, the movement of trucks have been restricted to some extent.

Poorly maintained

Mr. Dayanada agreed that these trucks are badly maintained and some of them do not even clean the number plates and since these are heavy vehicles they have extra steel re-enforcement structure, which sometimes tends to hide the number plates. He said mobile units and stationary police units will look out for vehicles without number plates.

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