Home Guards to manage City traffic

Home Guards to manage City traffic
Bangalore, DH News Service:
Two hundred young men and women have been inducted as first year Home Guards for Bangalore District with the inauguration of their basic training camp. These young volunteers will be trained in fire fighting, traffic management, first aid and shooting.

The Bangalore District Commandant, Home Guard B Amarnath said, “We are training them at a budget of Rs 3.5 lakh but they are all volunteers who are here solely for the purpose of serving society.”

Manohar K, a trainee and an former credit card salesman said that he wil use the training given to him to serve society. Bhavya, a former primary school teacher also said that she joined the Home Guards with the intention of serving society. “I always wanted to join the Home Guards but I just did not know the procedure. Now I have joined and am looking forward to the training,” she said.

Out of 1200 trained Home Guards in the city, several have been deployed at Bangalore University and in various parts of the city to manage traffic with a number of them deployed at sites where the Bangalore Metro is being constructed.

About 120 Home Guards have been posted to manage traffic near Metro sites and are paid a stipend of Rs 175 a day to manage their expenses. Amarnath said they were paid Rs 125 a day till November but since then there has been a hike of Rs 50. On Friday these uniformed young men and women will help the traffic police. He said, “Nearly 1000 of them are being deployed for pedestrian safety mainly because there is a shortfall in the number of policemen.” He added that there is a requirement of at least 4000 Home Guards for Bangalore City alone.