Solar traffic booths without use ....!!!!

It was only a couple of years ago that the solar traffic booths (traffic police shelters with fans and lights powered by solar panels) were introduced in the city. Today, not only has the concept been shelved, but the booths have been left to languish for reasons best known to the officers concerned.The introduction of solar traffic booths was born of the personal initiatives of officers who then served in the city, but soon after they were shifted or transferred by the government, the idea was put on the backburner.

Though policemen and officers in the rank of Inspectors and DSPs admitted that they welcomed the idea that their superiors introduced, the enthusiasm for implementing the innovations has waned after the exit of the senior officers.In another example, a former Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) mooted closed circuit TVs to monitor vehicular movement at traffic intersections in the city. However, the idea, which was launched with great fanfare, has now taken backseat, though the State government had earmarked funds for setting up CCTVs at arterial junctions.Yet another instance of an officer showing individual drive to make a difference to the city's traffic scenario relates to the introduction of first aid kits. These handy boxes were kept at vantage locations to provide relief to accident victims. However, the kits have now vanished and worse, no one is seeking an explanation for the abandonment of the scheme, a road safety activist noted.

A college lecturer who has been closely associated with road safety programmes chalked out by traffic police said the idea of drawing circles on the middle of roads to highlight spots of fatal accidents had evoked a mixed response from road users. However, soon after the officer who conceptualised this was transferred, the practice was quietly buried. According to a police officer, a former Commissioner of Police had introduced the idea of swiping of cards by beat policemen during night patrolling. Similarly, during that period, the Friends of Police (FoP) fraternities were also involved in assisting policemen. But, today the initiative seems to have been totally forgotten.

When contacted, a senior officer told that officers may come and go, but the measures useful to the public should continue irrespective of the transfer of officers. It is the prerogative of the government to post or shift an officer from one place to another, but the salutary measures they set in motion should be sustained, he said.