Fine, not escort jaywalkers

Anyone who has ever visited Singapore knows the common joke that it is a very 'fine' city, because you get fined for everything including a 500 Singapore dollar fine for jaywalking, and Singapore is a very clean, well-organised, and prosperous city state. Quite often during the week, I travel south from Uttara to the Gulshan area and almost always traffic is backed up for 5-30 minutes from the airport crossing, sometimes all the way back to Jashimuddin Avenue. This is mainly due to police-escorted jaywalkers who refuse to use the nearby bridge. It costs a lot of time, fuel and money affecting productivity. Perhaps the policemen lack the training, empowerment, and authorisation to fine jaywalkers so they simply escort them.

One thing is certain: unless the law is enforced, it will not be obeyed, no matter how much money is expended on electronic signboards. Why not start by selecting one date out of the year (perhaps November 1?) where every person caught jaywalking is fined 500 taka. Use this revenue to repair numerous pot-holed roads in the poorer parts of the city.

Scott Elliott
Uttara, Dhaka