LAHORE: Police has failed to stop one-wheeling and motorcycle race as hundreds of teenagers lose their lives every year. Despite billions spent on their funding, the Dolphin Force and Pero Force have also been unable to curb this dangerous activity.
CCPO Lahore Captain Ameen Wains has said that parents should keep control of motorcycle keys and if their kids resist, they should inform the police.
Police sources have said that due to the incompetency in decision making and planning, one-wheeling continues to prevail. Because the boys who enjoy this activity possess such immense control of their vehicle at such fast pace that police, and even Dolphin and Pero Force, are unable to arrest them, even in congested traffic.
Some of these boys are also experts in thievery.
According to practice, police has received directions from CCPO, asking SHOs of all stations to launch operations against one-wheelers and the mechanics that facilitate them on Chaand Raat. They have also been directed to register cases against one-wheelers who are arrested on the spot. These actions are valid considering many mechanics in Lahore are involved in theft and street crime, which they carry out with young desperate boys who are willing to go to any lengths to meet their excessive demands; the demands which cannot be met by their parents who do not have enough resources to provide them good education.
Our young generation suffers from an inferiority complex because of which they carry out such illegal activities and engages in dangerous bike riding. Police have tried to prevent them using section 144 but to limited success.
Police have urged parents to keep control of keys or inform them if their kids continue to resist. No one wants to get involved with the police on an occasion like Eid so perhaps this will prove to be an effective measure. If police are serious about curbing this menace, then officials ought to be present at key positions and increase patrol to control one-wheeling and racing.
A motorcycle mechanic named Naveed has told that culprits of one-wheeling and racing include police officials as well. These are the same officials that use these young boys to carry out unlawful activities, he added. To prepare a motorcycle for a race, almost 70 to 80,000 rupees are spent.
In Lahore, there are several groups that prepare motorcycles for racing. If a mechanic’s bike wins a race, then he acquires a special status within the racing circle. This, in turn, increases the demand for his services and his income as well.
There are several areas of Lahore where racing takes places: from Jinnah Hospital to Doctor’s Hospital, Central Park Gulberg to Underpass Barkat Market, Harbanspura to Jallo Park, Bedian Road, and Airport etc.
Chairman Legal Ethics Committee Haseeb has told that police has to use its planning to control the dangerous sport of one-wheeling. A few days ago CCPO Lahore in his office spoke with parents of kids involved in one-wheeling. He appealed to them to forbid their children from riding motorcycles on Eid. If they insist then they ought to inform the police. He said that young kids are not aware of how precious their lives are.
Police have a complete monitoring system in the city and despite the presence of Dolphin and Pero Force in addition to traffic wardens stationed at important junctions, we see that police negligent of its activities. Deaths caused by one-wheeling have taken place in the most open junctions. Instead of appealing, comprehensive planning needs to take place to tackle the issue.
