City police on the road to more work

HC PANEL SUGGESTION
City police on the road to more work
Deccan Herald

Till now, the daily grind of the Bangalore Traffic Police included managing accidents, traffic violations and jams.

Till now, the daily grind of the Bangalore Traffic Police included managing accidents, traffic violations and jams. But the severely short-staffed department may soon have a new item added to its list of duties — protect newly-laid roads from road users.

The High Court-appointed Captain Raja Rao committee has, in its third bi-monthly report on the quality of road works, recommended that the police department should be roped in for upgradation work, to ensure that the freshly-laid roads are not spoilt by passers-by.

The panel took a critical view of the “lack of civic sense” of Bangaloreans. According to the panel, road-users’ ‘encroachment’ was not limited to parking on new pavements and stepping on fresh cement on footpaths.

“On our inspection rounds of newly-laid roads taken up either under the IT/BT project or World Bank funded project, we found that even simmering temperatures of 60-70 degrees did not deter people from driving on these newly asphalted roads. Some drivers even bypassed barricades and used the roads,” said Capt Rao.

Incidentally, similar observations had been made by BMP and the members of the Empowered Committee on infrastructure on earlier occasions.

‘Ineffective’

Having BMP or Karnataka Land Army Corporation staff to keep vigilance over the earmarked road is turning out to be ineffective, pointed out Capt Rao. “The only way intrusions can be controlled is by making the policemen guard the road for at least 24 hours after it has been laid. As the Police department claims to be facing staff shortage, the BMP should perhaps buy its services. What is the use of spending lakhs of rupees if the roads do not even last a day?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic East) M A Saleem revealed that an arrangement is being made in coordination with the BMP to control entry of vehicles on these roads. “We have prepared schedules, and have advised BMP to undertake road works based on that. We will install barricades and also have a traffic cop on duty on a shift basis,” he added.