mid-day music writer just wanted to get home safe on bandh day, exceeding the speed limit by 1kmph on WEH; she was promptly fined
A screenshot of the e-challan
My phone rang every fifth minute while I was wrapping up production on January 3, the day of the Maharashtra bandh. On the line were my worried parents, sisters and husband, who wanted me to leave for home soon and reach safely.
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'When I dared to push off from office in Bandra East with colleagues, I expected long halts on WEH, considering that protesters had blocked roads for hours. Surprised to find an unoccupied road till Vile Parle, we zoomed, hoping to reach faster.
The drive to Mira Road was cumbersome. On the way, we witnessed what was being aired on channels and later printed in papers, including ours - 'protesters' attacking buses, beating up auto and cab drivers, etc.
I finally made it home after an hour-long challenging drive and had barely sat down when my husband's phone pinged. It was an e-challan from the traffic police, as the car is registered in his name. It said I had to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 for overspeeding somewhere near Santacruz.
On a day when law and order in the city was all over the place (I followed all the signals), the traffic department was concerned about my car's speedometer hitting '81', violating the '80' km/hour speed limit on WEH. I was flustered, to say the least. When I phoned the traffic control room, a woman official informed me about the 'offence'.
I wondered if I were stuck on the road for hours, would they pay for the fuel that I would lose for no fault of mine? Or if there were a medical emergency at home, wouldn't it be obvious to zip on an empty highway to reach sooner? Or for that matter, would the driver of a police van also follow the 'rules' in case of an emergency? Honestly, I felt troubled.
This wasn't about the fine. I felt that this gesture, which on other days would have encouraged me to salute the system's promptness, felt insensitive on the day of the bandh.'
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