Who is Traffic Ramasamy ?

[Prabhakaran]

Just see what a common man can achieve All it needs is to realize that you have power in you to change things around you. ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy weilds PILs as swords ! Who is Traffic Ramasamy? Traffic Ramaswamy is a 73-year-old former mill worker, a founder member of the state's Home Guard, and a self-appointed traffic policeman cum public interest litigator and social activist from Chennai. Much of his focus is on controlling the city's chaotic traffic. Initially, he started unofficially directing traffic at the city's busy Parrys Corner. The local police were so pleased with his efforts that they provided him with an official identity card. He acquired the nickname, Traffic Ramaswamy, shortly afterwards.    This 73-yr-old is largest PIL filer The middle class has up till now been known for being self-serving, with little appetite for taking risks, especially if it does not impact them directly. But K R Ramaswamy is one man in Chennai who has broken out of this mould. At an age in life where most men would like to be retired and at home, spending time with their family, Ramaswamy doesn't exactly stay with them. Home for Traffic Ramaswamy, as he's fondly known, is his friend's place and company is no more than a bodyguard who accompanies him day and night. It’s a tough price to pay for his first love - the city of Chennai. "Due to the situation in country nothing can be done without going to court. So I started filing Public Interest Litigations (PIL). They say ‘Don't go, sit and sleep. You cannot change the world.’ I don't want to be idle even if they don’t feel happy with me. I feel happy," says Ramaswamy. “He got a lot of threatening calls that’s why we are scared for him. So for the past one year he has been living away from home, which we think is better for him,” says Ramaswamy's brother, Sunderajan. Traffic at 73 is the largest filer of PILs in the Madras High Court and he's battled everything from restoring two-way traffic on the Chennai streets, to banning motorised fish carts. This even cost him an eye, but didn't slow him down. His latest effort is to raise down illegal buildings. He does all this with money he uses from his own retirement fund. “I'm one of the lowest middle class persons. I have no money with me but I'm living,” he says. Over the years Traffic Ramaswamy may have made a few enemies, but he's also the beloved of many Chennai residents. To his family, though, he remains a liability. “We are afraid. We told him ‘Why do this, why interfer ?’ For us, social activity means volunteering in temples. We're family-oriented,” says Ramaswamy's sister, Vijiya. For many like Ramaswamy, taking on an activist's life often means having to break out of the middle-class mould. Not to mention tangible problems like managing funds. Sometimes it also means a threat to one's life. Whatever the cause, for a majority of Indians, the path of activism and social work isn't a smooth one. (With inputs from Anu Jogesh) Chennai, 28 June (Asiantribune. com): City’s notable social worker, public interest litigant, whistle-blower, arbitrator — all put into one is Traffic K.R. Ramaswamy. When the city’s problems and administration of social rules go unwieldy, the services of such a person are need of the hour. Chennai must be thankful to him. However, he has friends and foes together.   Talking to Asian Tribune, “Traffic” (that is how Traffic Ramaswamy is known) says he has hit more than a century with his brow-raising, controversial, yet pointed and sharp, trend-setting Public Interest Litigation petitions in Madras High Court as well as Supreme Court. For some ‘Traffic’ might be terrific; he is a ‘do-better’ for the society, in that he is a go-getter.. Heaped with bouquets and brick-bats, undaunted 76-year-old Ramaswamy goes on with his tireless social commitment. He argues his own case as ‘party in person’.    Ramaswamy has single-handedly brought many public interest law suits in the Madras High Court. In one recent case, he was attacked by his opponents’ lawyers on the steps of the courthouse. This was not the first time, in 2002, he was assaulted after he obtained a ban on the use of motorized fish carts, damaging his sight. He has also recently had his office ransacked and papers were stolen; his family has disowned him. However, helped by donations from friends, he continues his fight to make Chennai the most livable and lovable city. ‘PIL king’s first public interest litigation was in 1998 when he filed one questioning the NSC Bose road in front of the Madras High Court being kept as one way, although it was a broad road. The result, it went two way. From then on Ramaswamy went on non stop, his almost all PILs going sure success. Even when PILs were viewed critically by the High court at a point of time, and those that were publicity-oriented and wasting courts valuable time and fined, that did not deter Traffic Ramaswamy. “I went ahead, mine were justifiable,” he says. His PIL to cleanse the city of roadside hawkers, and make the pedestrian pathway free of congestion, found about 5000 hawkers getting covered shops at T. Nagar, Moore Market and elsewhere. Gets police escort His PIL to ban the fish-cart vehicle (tri-wheeler motorized rickshaws) in September 2002 earned the wrath of the fish-cart drivers and he was attacked right in front of the L & O Inspector. Ramaswamy’s PIL was to find a way to end the fish-cart connected accident that was growing in the city and many two-wheeler riders became victims. When the attack was reported to the Court, he was provided with armed police guard. Since 2002 he is with an escort police. If T.Nagar’s Usman Road and Ranganthan street, which were bursting in seams with shopping crowds, it is because Traffic’s PILs that pulled down high raise buildings (Chennai silks, Saravana Stores, Jayachandra Textiles to name a few), removed the hawkers, regulated unauthorized constructions. In 2007, Ramaswamy’s PIL made Motor Vehicles Act section 129 enforceable with wearing helmet made compulsory throughout the country. He brought out the dormant rule to the light that motor vehicle sellers’ package should include an helmet also. This gave way to a Government Order (G.O.) that directed RTO to register a vehicle with an helmet, like insurance papers, road tax, pollution check certificates, although ‘helmet-rule’ is followed in breach today, due to political ‘go slow, go soft’ direction. If the city’s water bodies like Porur lake is glistening with sheet of water, again it is because of his PIL, the encroached huts and colonies were cleared, and Cooun river in front of MGR university at Maduravoyal is back to its full breadth. In 2004 when advocates were boycotting courts in Tamil Nadu, his PIL in the Supreme Court, upheld his contention and 160 advocates were arrested. Again when the lawyers were on strike on Sri Lankan Tamils issue and on subsequent attack by police on them, with shamiana spread on full length of the road, blocking one-way traffic for more than 35 days, this ‘Traffic’ could not keep quite, he was out with his weapon—PIL. That’s all some lawyers went to ’kill’ him. There is a case against 10 lawyers, FIR filed and pending. His PILs after Chennai Corporation polling brought re-election at 100 booths, minimum of auto fares raised from Rs.7 to Rs. 14, stalled production “Periyar” life-history film financed by the government (Rs. 95 lakhs) to a third party (Director Gnana Rajasekaran)— like this it goes on. Recent PIL questioned Tamil New Year change His recent two PILs are noteworthy. His one PIL challenged the government’s move to make the first day of the Tamil month of Thai as the Tamil New year’s day on June 26, Friday. Traffic’s original petition in 2008 was dismissed with a cost of Rs. 10,000 for non-appearance of the petitioner. He went to Supreme Court and reversed the order and brought the matter back to the high court for hearing. He questioned the order of the government that it had not given any reason to alter the Tamil New Year from the existing Chithirai 1 to Thai 1. He wanted the new year day restored to the first day of Chithirai. By another PIL he sought to restrain the authorities from collecting road toll at 15th kilometre on NH-5 Chennai-Kolkatta highway. Pointing out that the four-lane was not constructed by L&T, Ramaswamy said toilets, rooms, pedestrian underpass, service roads and bylanes too had not been completed before the toll collection was started. The toll gate near Karanodai did not have a canopy and lacked light, he said, adding that there was no uniform fee collections too. Describing it as a scandalous activity, Ramaswamy said that instead of the original 27th kilometre toll was being collected at 15th km on the highway. Traffic Ramaswamy started his career as a mill worker He was a founder member of the state’s Home Guard, and a self-appointed traffic policeman, who slowly grew out to be a public interest litigator and social activist. His first focus was on controlling the city’s chaotic traffic. Initially, he started unofficially directing traffic at the city’s busy Parrys Corner. The local police were so pleased with his efforts that they provided him with an official identity card. He acquired the nickname, Traffic Ramaswamy, shortly afterwards. Ramaswamy recently unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from South Chennai constituency. His wife and daughter with grand son and grand daughter are living away from him, however he visits them frequently. He has single-handedly brought many public interest law suits in the Madras High Court. In one recent case, he was attacked by his opponents' lawyers on the steps of the courthouse. This was not the first time, he has been attacked: in 2002, he was assaulted by fish sellers - after he obtained a ban on the use of motorised fish carts - damaging his sight.  He has also recently had his office ransacked and papers were stolen; he was attacked in 2002, damaging his sight; and his family have disowned him. However, helped by donations from friends, he claims he will continue his fight to make Chennai the most livable and lovable city.   He has successfully obtained: the demolition of illegally constructed buildings in Chennai; restrictions on motorised fish carts; the decongestion of major bus routes by banning auto rickshaws from them; and a review of lavish state funding for a feature film (arguing the money could be more properly used for development work). He is now accompanied day and night by an armed police bodyguard.   What he says "My aim is to make Chennai as the most livable and lovable city. I will continue my social work till I achieve this end," says 'Traffic' Ramasamy, who has fought many a legal battle for the cause of public in the city. Battling One of the largest filers of public interest litigation petitions in the Madras High Court, he had single handedly fought many cases. However, irked over this, some of his rivals recently ransacked his office in a bid to discourage him from going ahead with his declared principle of making Chennai as a livable city. Stating that the attack did not deter him, he told reporters that he would continue his fight. The 73-year-old man, who started his career as a peon in a textile mills, was one of the founders of the Home Guard movement in the state in 1963. He started helping the police in regulating the traffic in the busy Parrys Corner. Appreciating his work, the police issued him an identity card, which earned him the name 'Traffic' Ramasamy.   This activism cost him his family life as the members of his family disowned him, as he continued 'foolish things' of taking up people's cause, he said. But one of his friends offered him shelter and many friends helped him in paying the court fee for his cases. Ramasamy whose full name is K R Ramaswamy, was instrumental in getting a ban on plying of motorised fish carts in the city in 2002 following which he was attacked by some miscreants, damaging one of his eyes.   Again, it was he who took up the case of unauthorised constructions in Chennai. The Supreme Court had recently asked the Tamil Nadu government to demolish all unauthorised constructions, including some famous textile shops in the city. The apex court then remarked: "Chennai has become a unlivable city due to unauthorised buildings."   He had also challenged the state funding for a feature film on the life Periyar E V Ramasamy, a social reformer. The Rs 95 lakh subsidy given to the film could be utilised for some development work, he argued. When no advocate came forward to argue his case, he personally appeared. But some lawyers attacked him on the court premises itself.   He had now taken up a case for banning autorickshaws on major bus routes to decongest the traffic. He thinks that the recent attack on his office was by some autorickshaw men, who thought that their livelihood would be affected if he won the case. "But I am not going to stop my efforts," he said.   More information about him in these links.  http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balu/324788421/ http://nilamukilan. blogspot. com/2008/ 08/blog-post_ 23.html http://www.koodal. com/news/ tamilnadu. asp?id=40092&section=tamil&title=traffic- ramasamy- case-filed- against-karunani dhi-on-bus- fare-issue   More comments about him at   http://www.karuthu. com/forum/ printer_friendly _posts.asp? TID=3830

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Regards,
Prabhakaran Kandasamy.