Karnataka - Bangalore   

Reporter's Diary

Instant justice

THEY SAY "the poor will be always with us''; as if to satisfy their conscience. But even the poor have their rights in a democracy. And occasionally they even assert their rights.

Victims of the many hit-and-run cases are poor pedestrians who just happened to be at the wrong time and place and got run over. Occasionally, the vehicle involved is stopped and if the driver does not manage to run away in time, gets a taste of what may called people "taking the law into their own hands".

Such incidents do keep happening and excuses of jurisprudence will not stop instant justice being delivered; because the poor have also realised that when a rich person is involved in such an accident, chances are slim of obtaining justice for the victims or their families. Courts have now woken up to the need for a better deal and to their credit, are encouraging settlements of compensation for accidents victims without delays.

Back to `normal'

FOR THE past week or so the footpaths on either side of Bhagawan Mahaveer Road (Infantry Road) at the junction with Central Street have been surprisingly kept free of pedestrians. It was said that a police official posted recently to the area has convinced the furniture traders to stay away from the footpaths.

But on Monday there were signs that the official's drive may not last long with a few furniture traders are making it to the footpaths again. Traders, it appears, are not all that convinced as yet.

Though a few of the traders seem to adhere to the instructions, a few others are claiming a "right" to the footpath.

For reasons not well known the police have hardly been able to ensure free footpaths on this stretch. Pedestrians, who usually have a tough time walking on the footpaths in the area, get a respite for a week or two when a new police official is posted and, as a pedestrian pointed out, it is back to "normal" soon thereafter.

K. Satyamurty

and Govind D. Belgaumkar

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