Stuck in a jam? Call traffic helpline

The Delhi Government for the past many months has been encouraging its citizens to use public transport – all thanks to the rapidly increasing traffic in the City.

Millions of cars clog up Delhi roads each day, leaving the commuters irritated, angry and mutinous after navigating their way through the traffic snarl everyday. Although the Delhi Metro has proved to be the City’s lifeline  and has done yeoman service in providing the harried Dilliwallahs a safe, sure and comfortable commute and helped ease the situation somewhat, it has been unable to drastically reduce the number of cars on road, infact there seem to be more cars on the roads now than ever before! The result –
numerous traffic jams.

But not to be dismayed, help is at hand. The next time you are stuck at a traffic intersection where the signal takes a long time to turn green, you can call the traffic police and register a complaint. The traffic police are in the process of marking each signal with a unique number which a citizen can quote while making a complaint on the traffic helpline number – 011-25444444.

According to Anil Shukla, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) it is a step ahead to handle traffic snarls in the City. “We will be giving unique numbers to every pole and signal so that people can call the helpline number and file a complaint about any dysfunctional signal. We will then take quick action to rectify the problem.”

These identification numbers given to every signal in the city will help traffic control rooms monitor the change in signalling, whether done manually or automatically.

Further, the officer, said, “This decision will be helpful during peak hours and also in major intersections that are manned by personnel who control the lights, depending on the traffic pressure in the area. We also have forces deployed all over the City to check whether the traffic lights are working properly or not. Commuters who are stuck in a snarl at a signal and notice that a traffic light is creating a problem, can just call at the helpline number and quote the number given to that poll, like ‘N-24/24 or N-3/1 is not working’”.

Metrolife spoke to a few commuters to glean their reaction on this latest development. Nishca Arora, a PR professional who drives to Nehru Place everyday, said, “It is a nightmare to drive on Delhi roads, especially during peak hours. At times I feel like thrashing people on the roads. But, now I feel I can vent my anger by calling this helpline number and registering my complaint about faulty signals.”

Although, many decisions and steps have been taken place in the past to ease traffic snarls and others for the betterment of the City, but they all seem to fail after a while. So, while this is yet another step to make life easy for drivers and commuters alike, it remains to be seen how proactive the officials will be in terms of rectifying the signals and disciplining the Delhi traffic .

Voicing similar sentiments, another harassed commuter Parul Suneja said, “It is definitely a great step, provided they work on it properly and implement it well. If action is not taken even after complaints have been made, then this decision will be of no use to us. Traffic is a huge issue in our City as thousands of cars are being added each day on the roads, and handling snarls is a task for traffic police too,”  she concedes.